Shape and Form
by DapperCrapper
Summary: 2007 movie crossover with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What was this strange force that lead him to Sunnydale CA? Could it be the fact that before the war 10,000,000,000 years ago he was engulfed by a strange green energy collection? IronhidexDawn Summers.
1. Curiosity

Disclaimer: I do not own either _Transformers_ or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. _Transformers_ belongs to Hasbro and DreamWorks pictures and Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon.

Okay, the idea for this would not leave me alone! In case you didn't know this about me, I live for alternate pairings, especially crossovers. Crossing over different fandoms is an extremely guilty pleasure of mine. However, without a computer I've been unable to write fics like I used to. But, yes, I've taken a break from my anime love and moved onto warping my live-action fandoms… such as _Transformers the live action movie _and _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. _As you saw from my summary, this will be Dawn Summers of Buffy and Ironhide. Let's just pretend for a moment that it's Season five of Buffy, where she first shows up, m'kay? Where did I come up with this? Only the butterflies that run command central in my head. You should ask them. Please, regardless if you loved it, hated it, thinks it needs improvment, all I ask is that you review.

Okay, here we go.

"Roughly Ten Billion Years Ago"

_Click, whirr, click, click_

Various clicks and whirrs sounded through the air as Ironhide inspected his weapons. He did not really need to; he knew his cannons were in perfect working condition. He just simply enjoyed the feel of his weaponry flexing and returning into place. He really did not need to worry about anything. Cybertron was a peaceful planet, every now and again a mech decided to cause trouble but nothing too serious.

After flexing his cannons one last time, he folded them away and turned toward his home. He was feeling a bit tired and recharge would do him good. He had only taken a few steps when he noticed something in the distance.

"What in the name of Primus?"

Either his optics were malfunctioning, or the sky actually wavered and cracked open, spilling out a bright white light. On reflex he drew out his cannons. Whatever this was, it was not normal. He stood tensed as the crack in the air grew larger and took a step back as something made its way through the crack. It was the color of vegetation found on most organic worlds. But, it did not hold the same leafy appearance as plant life. And he was fairly certain that plant life did not shimmer or travel through cracks in the fabric of the universe. While the color was the same, the shape of it was certainly not. In fact it had no shape. At that moment he realized what was making its way into his world was neither organic nor mechanical, it was pure energy.

And said pure energy was making its way toward him at speed faster than he could even hope to shoot at.

_Oh slagging pit… _

Curiosity. That was what the Key felt. While effortlessly gliding from world to world, the swirling gate severer had finally come across a world completely unlike anything it had ever witnessed. It had passed through worlds where the inhabitants always interacted with each other, in some worlds the interaction that took place seemed docile while in others some inhabitants did not seem to like what others were doing to them. Especially when interaction causes fluid to flow out of severs on the creature's body or its skin to change colors as well as swell up. Why exactly was that happening?

However, after making a rift and flowing into yet another world, the Key stopped. This world was different. While in all of the other worlds there was vegetation, life forms that stayed rooted into the ground and inhabitants that were much softer in texture, this world was different. There were no plants, there were no life forms with organic material. This place was all shiny, and hard and… just different.

It stopped when it noticed movement. There was a life form there. It was staring at it with odd things coming out of its arms that glowed and pulsated. Wanting to get a closer look at whatever this was that focused its blue light-like gaze upon it. Moving through the air, as quick as ever it rushed toward the life form and enveloped it in its being.


	2. Overload

Disclaimer: I do not own either _Transformers_ or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. _Transformers_ belongs to Hasbro and DreamWorks pictures and Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon.

Shape and Form

_Oh Primus above, what is happening to me!?_

That was the only coherent thought he could manage at the moment as he was engulfed in viridian energy. He tried to break away but it was impossible. He couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't think, he could only feel. At first it was overwhelming. He had never felt anything of this magnitude. It threatened to fry his circuits and overload his CPU. For a fleeting moment he was afraid that it would kill him. But, as this-whatever it was flowed through his being, he was awash in a feeling of pure bliss.

Such pure green energy, resonating throughout his entire form, through every cable and circuit, swirling around his spark. Nothing could compare to this. Never in a million vorns. He wanted to scream, fall to the ground and claw at it but he couldn't move or even make a sound. The energy flooded his spark and he tensed and let out silent scream as the most powerful overload he had ever experienced crackled through his body.

In the midst of his afterglow, he felt something. This energy felt alive. It was sentient. Its consciousness flowed through his spark and he suddenly his mind was overcome with many visions, none of them making any sense. They were of many different worlds. Worlds of unimaginable beauty and worlds of unspeakable torment. He could also feel this… thing. It was not evil; it had no ill will at all. Neither did it have good intentions either. It was neutral, unbiased… it just was. He could also sense an innocent curiosity in this being. Like a new-built sparkling. It had never seen anything such as him and was curious. And like a new-built, it checked him out, trying to figure out what he was, while unwittingly giving him the best overload he had ever experienced.

The Key pulled completely away from the giant… Cybertronian was what it was called. It had learned nearly all that it needed to know about this being. It was called a cybertronian, its name was Ironhide and it was not organic yet felt as much as any organic. It learned of his likes, dislikes, desires, fears and it felt overwhelmed. Such feelings were not natural to the Key. The only feeling it knew of was curiosity, a sense of "Where does this lead?" and after learning, it becomes disinterested and moves onto the next world, never interacting; only observing as long as needed. But, these… feelings were new, discomforting, frightening… exciting.

It stopped and regarded the being in front of it that had unwittingly taught it so much.

"Ironhide"

Ironhide's head snapped up at the strange voice that spoke his name. It sound like no mech he had ever heard, nor organic. It was soft and steely, neither masculine nor feminine. It was pure innocence and raw power all rolled into one.

Quickly he drew out his cannons, realizing this was pointless but not wanting to look like a weakling. He knew this thing could not be hurt by his cannons nor would it hurt him, but that didn't stop him from drawing his guns just in case.

"Who- _what _are you?!"

The shimmer just swirled from left to right, all around him but did not touch him. In a way it reminded him of the curious way sparklings hopped around something that caught their interest.

"I… do not know"

That made the mech stop. It didn't know what it was? How could something that powerful, something that's seen more worlds than he's ever known about not know what it was? He slowly lowered his cannons and reached out toward the energy.

"Where are you from?"

He knew that could very well be anywhere judging by the jumble of images that flipped through his processors. Luckily they were beginning to leave him and the headache that came with them was beginning to dissipate.

The swirly shimmer didn't answer him but instead swirled around him and this time partially merged into him again. He let out a gasp as blissful currents moved through his body.

"Stop that!"

It stopped, backed away and then without another word it caused another rip in the sky and disappeared through the crack, the tear in the fabric of reality closing neatly as if it were never even there in the first place.

Ironhide stood there mute. He didn't mean for it to run away. He needed it to stay so he could get answers, although those would probably be scarce considering the thing didn't even know what it was.

"Ironhide?"

The weapon's specialist looked up to see his commander coming towards him and shook his head. He need to alert Optimus to this new change.


	3. Changes

Disclaimer: I do not own either _Transformers_ or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. _Transformers_ belongs to Hasbro and DreamWorks pictures and Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon.

A/N: Squee! I am so happy you all enjoyed my story and gave it a chance. I honestly was expecting Hellfire and brimstone from constant flames. Thanks for proving me wrong!

Now, this chapter may be a little on the boring side, but no worries. It's after this that it gets much better.

S.S.S.S.S

"Ironhide."

Shaking his head of the remaining static brought on by that… he still had no clue what that thing was, he turned to his leader who was now making his way towards him. He should alert Optimus of this new development. Who knew what kind of madness this thing could cause.

"Optimus, something has happened."

"Yes, I know"

Ironhide stopped and blinked. He knew? Wait, Optimus knew what that thing was? Did that mean he also knew what it did to him? He fought the urge to shift and twitch in embarrassment and instead looked his commander in the optics.

"Really?"

The commanding autobot's optics grew grim as he regarded his weapon's specialist.

"Yes, I know of Megatron's plan. He wants the power of the Allspark."

Wait, what? Lord High Protector Megatron? The Allspark? What did that have to do with swirly green energy violating him?

Optimus remained oblivious to Ironhide's confusion and embarrassment.

"He wants the power of the Allspark and life itself. He's gathered a group to help him achieve this goal." Optimus stopped and looked at Ironhide who looked extremely shocked beyond belief and regarded him quizzically. "You said you knew."

Ironhide shook his head. "No, I didn't, sir. That wasn't what I was about to tell you…" he then gave his leader a determined stare. "However, this is far more important than that. It can wait. What do you wish me to do, Optimus?"

"Go with the other Autobots and hide the Allspark in the city of Tyger Pax. We must protect it at all costs. We cannot let Megatron get his claws on it!"

Nodding at his commander, Ironhide turned and headed to where the Allspark was kept. His mind flittered briefly to the swirling collection of energy. He should have told Optimus about that. He then pushed the thought out of his mind. That energy ball was probably long gone considering how he scared it away. And besides, he had more important things to worry about. He had to help protect the Allspark.

S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S

A small six-eyed lizard-like being sat on a rock and tiled its head skyward as the air warped and cracked open, spilling a bright light. The lizard's tri-forked tongue darted out to lick one of its eyes as it observed the green swirl that came through the rift.

The Key paid the lizard no mind as it moved through this new world. Something did not feel right. It was not used to focusing on something from another world… especially after leaving that world. The minute it was out of sight, it was usually out of thought. So, why was this… what was it again?... Cybertronian still in its thoughts?

It did not understand what exactly happened. That Ironhide was new and interesting so it wanted a closer look at it. In the midst of checking him out, learning about what he was, the Key noticed that Ironhide liked its presence. It picked up on euphoric vibes while it swirled through him. And what the Key did know of living creatures it knew that when something is enjoyed they often want to experience it again. So, it attempted to flow through him again, to cause him happiness. But, something went wrong. He yelled at it in that same manner that beings trapped in chains scream at the ones who tear their flesh repeatedly with random objects in other worlds. Those beings only scream like that when they are in deep distress, so it must've made a mistake and hurt him in some way. In that moment, the Key felt two new feelings, a need to be far away from him as well as regret.

Was this how corporeal beings felt all the time? A constant mix of feelings that never made any sense? It felt a sense of mourning next. It missed the way it was. Just the constant curiosity was fine, but then this happened. It recalled sometimes wanting to know what corporeal beings felt every now and again but the thought always left as quickly as it came. Well, now it knew and the Key felt a wave of empathy as well as bitterness. Corporeals were certainly a sad bunch to deal with this but why did it have to?

In merging with Ironhide and learning its feelings, it gave it feelings as well. And at the thought of the Cybertronian the Key felt anger as well as sadness. Ironhide did this to it but at the same time… it wanted to go back to him. But, apparently it hurt him and many millennia of world hopping has taught the Key that other beings did not want to be near the things that hurt them.

As the Key floated on, the feelings that the mech gave to it slowly started to dissipate and it was feeling much like its old self. The jumble of emotions dwindled down until only that sense of curiosity remained.

Creating another portal, the Key zipped through it, leaving its briefly-owned feelings and thoughts of a mechanical being with odd things coming out of its arms behind.

S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.

Much time has passed, however the Key was oblivious to it as always. It simply moved freely through worlds, observing for a few moments and then leaving. It actually saw the creation of a world. Swirling gases and such created a burning star and planets began revolving around it. One was huge, the other was tiny in comparison, and one had rings around it but stood out from the rest. It was the third planets from the burning star and after it cooled, it grew vegetation, water; there were creatures that walked on either four legs or two… and smaller ones that walked on six or more. It stayed in that world the longest, wanting to witness its development. It watched as the creatures with the least amount of hair follicles, humans, began taking control of the planet, erecting cities and constantly inventing new things. It seemed slow to them but compared to other worlds, this world… this Earth, was a fast mover.

While moving around the planet, high in the sky, it noticed something taking place in a colder region of the planet. A group of humans were breaking away the ice and an older man, Captain Witwicky, was yelling orders at them until their companion creatures… dogs… ran and started digging in another part of the ice until it cracked.

The older human and the dogs fell through the ice and after a moment shouted something about a discovery. Curious, the Key slipped through the ice, going unnoticed by the younger humans who were worried about their… captain is what they called him.

As the Key melded through the ice, it saw a flash of red light and saw symbols that looked familiar but not of this world. The old human was thrown back and was holding his eyes while his dogs whimpered around him nervously but this went unnoticed by the Key. It was busy swirling around the silver being that was so much bigger than the inhabitants of this world. When it got a good look at its face she realized it had seen this thing before. Not in person but in another's mind.

_Ironhide!_

With a rush it all came back. The shiny planet and the memories of the Cybertronian that taught it so much in a short moment of time. Not sparing the fallen human, worried dogs that stopped whimpering around the human to snarl and bark at it or the unconscious mech another look, it ripped open another portal to get back to Cybertron. Yes, the Key new that both Earth and Cybertron were in this same dimension but it would be quicker to get there by taking a few short cuts through other dimensions.

S.S.S..S.S.S.S.S.

This could not be right. This looked nothing like the shiny planet it remembered. It used to be full of lights. It was so dark and barren now.

It set out to look for Ironhide but found nothing but fallen Cybertronians. The Key flittered around the off-lined bots for a moment to make sure it was not the one it had sought out and felt relief-again with those feelings!- that he was not among the dead. That was the one place it could not go, though it was terribly curious. It new that one place was full of happiness while the other made the torment it had witnessed in other worlds seems minuscule by comparison.

It thought of Ironhide again and felt a sense of sadness. He was not here and it did not know where it was. But that hardly mattered. It could easily find him eventually as long as he was not dead. And somehow it just _knew_ that he was not dead. It did not know where he was, but he was still alive.

With quick rip in the exosphere, the Key disappeared with its intent not on figuring out worlds, but finding Ironhide.

S.S.S.S.S.S

Sunnydale California

"UGH!! Those fucking skanks! Those bitches think they can revolt against me?!"

Glorificus was not a happy hell-goddess. Well, how could she be happy? She was kicked out of her dimension, off of her seat of power by those two whores that ruled at her side. They said she was too vicious?! Well, of course she was vicious! She was a hell-goddess! God, what a couple of short-bus bitches. And now she was banished to this crap-ass realm called Earth, and what was worse, she was stuck to live inside a little douche monkey named Ben who was apparently created at to hold her. She had no consciousness for the first thirteen years of being stuck in this meat sack prison, but as the boy grew she managed to escape every now and then. Unfortunately, every time she escaped she was wearing something horrendous… like polo shirts and… khakis! EW!

"Just wait until I get back… those ho-bags won't know what hit them… "She stopped and snorted. "Well, duh, of course they won't. They'll be dead." She stopped and looked to her left. "Dreg!"

At that moment, a pointy-eared demon who appeared to be a leper scuttled over to the blonde supernatural bombshell and bowed. "Yes, Oh Ruthless and powerful Glorificus? How may I serve you?"

Blue eyes rolled in annoyance as the goddess regarded the dwarf. "I told you, just Glory… you worthless dirt." She flopped down in a chair and crossed her shapely legs. "Have you found the Key yet?"

"Not yet, your gorgeousness… but we are working very hard to find it" Dreg told her, hoping to keep his head.

"Well, you're not working hard enough, you spaz!" she bellowed, darting upright. "I need the Key! This world is disgusting and those bitches have to pay!"

"I understand, my Lady, but-"

"Most all powerful one! Look, is that it?!"

Glory stopped and took a quick glance at her other server, Jinx who was pointing at something outside the window of the spacious room she resided in. She peered out the window and her mouth fell open. There outside was a bright green shimmer. It really brought out the blue in her eyes. Her key!

"Don't just stand there, you idiots! Get it!"

That was all it took as they all rushed outside. Only Dreg stopped to retrieve a mystic jar from the shelf to capture it in before rushing outside to perform the chant. Glory snatched the urn from the lackey and channeled her power to capture the Key.

Stopping from its ongoing search of Ironhide the Key regarded the tall golden-haired woman and her disfigured followers curiously. She had seen her before. She had passed through a dimension where two goddesses were fighting this one and she was banished. So this is where they sent her. Why was she looking at it in such a way as if it were what this woman had been searching for forever?

The Key was about to move on when something odd happened. It felt itself being pulled away from this place. What was going on? Why was everything spiraling and-why was it suddenly dark? It tried to create a portal but it could not. It could not even move. What was going on here!

"What the fuck!? Where'd my Key go?"

Glory let out a scream of rage and frustration and took off to where the Key had been taken. She could still lightly sense it and had to hurry.

S.S.S.S.

The Temple of the Order of Dagon

"Come my brothers, we must hurry. The Beast approaches swiftly."

A group of robed men quickly formed a circle and began to chant, trying to block out the shaking of the temple. One of the men placed a clear jar containing bright swirling energy in the center of the circle.

Out in the vastness of space, the remaining autobots had taken refuge among the stars. Megatron's betrayal had resulted in a civil war which practically terminated the planet. They had tried to protect the Allspark but Megatron had saw through their plan and launched a full scale attack. Optimus, in a last ditch effort, hurled the Allspark into space, thus deactivating Cybertron. Megatron had followed and Bumblebee, though heavily wounded had gone after it as well.

Ironhide, was now taking refuge among the stars when he felt something. He did not know exactly what it was or what was happening, but he had the vague sense that something was changing.

S.S.S.S.S

Sunnydale, California. A couple of weeks later.

"Okay, I'm on my way. I just need to get something to eat."

Buffy Summers placed the phone back on the hook and opened the kitchen cupboard, pulling out a box of Corn Pops and a bowl. She poured the cereal and then pulled out the carton of milk only to find it empty. She frowned in annoyance.

"Mom!" she called. "Did you drink the last of the milk?" she asked.

"No, I didn't, honey" came the reply from the living room.

Buffy's fist clenched and her head snapped toward the staircase. "DAWN!!"

"Oh, get over it!"


	4. Instinctual

Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers _or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. _Transformers belongs to DreamWorks Pictures and Hasbro and Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while with no prospect of monetary gain. (And I'm broke, so no suing me, okay?)

Wow! I am so blown away with all of the positive feedback I'm getting for this. You have no idea how happy you've all made me. Seriously, I find myself checking my e-mail on my phone in hopes of reviews because it seriously makes my day. (And when you have a boring life like mine you need all the joy you can get.) I just have one question, where in the Hell is Tranquility, the city where Sam and Mikaela live? Because I honestly have no idea.

S.S.S.S.S

_"_No… no, no, no. You can't die on me! Not now! Not here…"

Tapping madly at her iPod with her index finger, Dawn Summers desperately tried to get her music player to work. It had to work! It was her only salvation from the boring Hell of watching her sister train with her stuffy old Watcher.

She glanced at Buffy who was now balancing on one hand while Giles looked on. What was with all this freaky Zen stuff anyways? And more importantly why was she even here? Oh, yeah. Mom told Buffy to take her when Dawn would have been perfectly content to stay at home and watch _Aqua Teen Hunger Force_ on DVD or read the manga she had bought. But, no. She had to stay here and watch this crap. And if it wasn't this, then it was listening to Giles try and figure out what some magic glow ball thing was that Buffy found after a night of patrolling. She didn't even get a chance to grab one of her romance books and barely grabbed her iPod as Buffy dragged her out of the house, obviously hating to be anywhere with her.

She tapped at the dead mp3 player a few more times before giving up and showing her distress in a very obvious way.

"CRAP!!"

**THUD!**

At the sound of the crash Dawn looked over her shoulder and her brows went up and her lips twitched in amusement at the sight of Buffy lying flat on her back, one hand going to cradle her abused backside. Wow, Miss Chosen One can kill demons every night and stuff but can't even handle an upside-down fall? Wasn't she once a cheerleader? Oh, the pom-poms of the world breathe a sad sigh of disappointment.

Paying no mind to the annoyed glare Giles gave her, she moved to look her fallen sister in the face, paying no heed to the fiery glare her sister gave her.

"Can we go now?"

_Calm. Be calm. You cannot stake your little sister. You CAN'T stake your little sister!_

_Oh, but I _really _want to…_

Keeping her rage in check as well as her urge to tackle the brunette ball of annoyance, Buffy clenched her fists and stayed prone on her back. If she got up, it would be all over.

"Dawn, you little-"

"Dawn, my dear." Giles began, sensing a catastrophe on his hands as Buffy began to rip into her sister. "While, I realize that this is hardly your idea of fun, I need you to understand this is important. Your sister-"

"-needs to be in tip-top shape to fight the forces of evil and stuff, I know." Dawn said with a roll of her eyes. "But why do I have to be here again?"

"Mom made me bring you, you little brat." Buffy fumed. "It's not like I _wanted_ you to be here."

At those words Dawn turned to her sister, feeling tears of rejection prickle her eyes but was determined not to let them fall. Instead she gave her sister a look of pure ice, startling the blonde.

"No, you never want me around."

And with that, the teenager stood up and stalked out of the back training area and into the shop area of Giles' newly acquired shop, the Magic Box.

Sitting down at a table, Dawn unzipped her bag and yanked out a worn notebook adorned with various stickers and read "PRIVATE! KEEP AWAY! Namely you, Buffy!" on the cover. Blinking away the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, she flipped the notebook open to a blank page, pulled out a pen and began to vent.

_I swear to God, I am so sick of this! I mean, I already know that Buffy doesn't like me, or want me around or anything like that. It's so obvious, even when I'm not doing anything she's always mean to me. It's like the way I breathe even irritates her. I know she thinks I'm just her dumb little sister that gets in the way of her Chosen One destiny crap, but does she even think about how I feel?_

_I would've been fine living with Dad after the divorce. I had a normal life with normal friends. But, no! He sends me to live with Mom and Buffy when I was ten. Mom says it was because Dad couldn't handle having a girl with "girl dilemmas" without her around to explain stuff. It makes sense. Dad did get a little weird after I told him got my first rag. But, I know that's just a lie. He didn't want me with him. He wanted me out of the way so he could be with that tramp he's shacking up with in Spain. And now I'm here and Buffy doesn't want me here either. _

_It's not like I begged to be here. You think I want to live in a town where I can't go to a movie without my sister because some creepy vamp might come out of nowhere and suck me dry. God, you'd think that after mom realized there were demons and vamps running around here, she'd move but she stayed. Weird, much? _

_Yeah, sure. Buffy's friends are nice. Xander is the most awesome guy ever. I know he sees me as the woman that I am… even if I do spill grape juice on stuff every now and then. But then there's his girlfriend Anya. Oh my God! She treats me like a stupid baby, worse than mom. She brings board games and Barney tapes for crying out loud. __And she's so weird! Who's afraid of bunnies?! __Now, Willow is awesome. __She's the best ever. She's like the aunt I never had. Why couldn't she have been my sister instead of __Buffy?__ She's so cool. She's the only one I know who likes school as much as __I do. She's a lesbian, but that's cool. It doesn't bug me any. And__ her girlfriend, Tara, is really nice. I can really relate to her. _

_That's what I really need. Someone I can relate to. Someone who can hang out with me so I won't be stuck in Slayer central nightmare. Someone who just sees me for me and not just hang around me because they have to like Buffy or because they feel sorry for me. But, someone who actually wants me around. _

With a sigh, she closed her notebook and stood up, stepping outside for some fresh air. She couldn't wait for the weekend to be over. She knew that sounded weird coming from a fifteen year old girl, but it was how she felt. School was the one place where she did not have to be stuck in the shadow of her older sister. She excelled in all of her subjects and was placed one of the highest in her class. But, as much as she longed for the classroom, she wanted something more. Friends of her own perhaps?

"You!"

Dawn squeaked in surprise and whirled around to see a vagrant sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against one of the building. His eyes were crazed as he pointed at her. "You don't belong here. I know what you are." He snarled at her.

Without a word, Dawn ran back into the Magic Box. She wasn't too worried. She knew there were crazies all over California. She sat down at the table closest to where her sister was training, wanting to be close to her in case the weirdo did try something but still not wanting to see her yet. She watched the door closely and jerked when she saw the bum pass the door but let out a sigh of relief when she saw him flag down a bus.

Putting the crazy man out of her mind, she folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them. With a sniffle and a yawn, she nestled more comfortably onto her arms and drifted off to sleep.

S.S.S.S.S.S.S

_Where am I?_

Dawn had no clue how she got here or what this place was. All she knew was that it seemed futuristic. It was like something that was in one of Xander's comic books. Everything was metallic and shiny... and so big.

_Weird…_

Looking ahead, she noticed a large robot staring at her. It had cannons coming out of its arms and they were aimed at her. For some reason, she was more curious than afraid and made a beeline toward, intent on figuring this thing out. When she connected with it, it let out a scream.

"Dawn!"

_Wait, that sounds like Buffy…_

"Dawn! Wake up, it's time to go."

"Wha…?" she asked intelligently.

"Get up. We're leaving. I'm done training."

Dawn lifted her head from the table and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. With a sigh she shoved her notebook into her bag and stood, following her sister out of the shop.

"Dawn, when we get home we're going to have a talk."

Dawn did not spare her sister a glance but kept looking straight ahead as they made their way over the freeway overpass towards their home. "Sure. Whatever." And with that she picked up her pace, wanting to put as much distance between her and her sister as possible.

Buffy stopped, sighed and shook her head. This was not going to go well. It wasn't like she meant to isolate Dawn. It just happened sometimes. And it wasn't like Dawn was completely innocent here. Her constant brattiness was the reason for all of this. Sure, Willow said to cut Dawn a break, but it was hard. She was just so annoying! Oh, and Mom always took her side. It was always "her precious baby this" and "her little pumpkin belly that." Why couldn't she be pumpkin belly, just once?

Shaking her head, Buffy started walking again only to stop. What was Dawn staring at on the freeway?

"Dawn?"

Dawn was barely listening to what her sister was saying. She now stood on the overpass looking, her hands gripping the fence as she stared out at the freeway. She felt as if something was coming this way, making its way to her. Whatever it was it felt… familiar.

"Dawn?" Buffy persisted. "What are you looking at?"

"Huh?" Dawn turned to her sister who was looking at her quizzically. "What'd you say?"

"Dawn, what were you looking at? I called your name five times but you didn't answer. You just kept looking out at the freeway with this strange look on your face." She placed a hand to the girl's cheek in concern. "Are you okay?"

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine… I was just…thinking about stuff." She abruptly turned and headed in the direction of their home.

Buffy watched her for a moment before following.

S..S.S.S.S.S

On the long stretch of freeway, a large GMC Topkick made its way down sparsely populated road. The other occupants of the road were completely unaware that the driver in of the car was nothing but a hologram and that the Topkick was actually an alien robot.

The events of Mission City had past a few months ago, Megatron was defeated as were the rest of the Decepticons, except for Barricade and Starscream. Optimus had declared this planet their new home since Cybertron was long gone. While ever alert for a likely revenge attack by the remaining Decepticons, the autobots adjusted well to life on this organic planet.

Well, all except Ironhide.

With the threat of Megatron gone, Ironhide was finally allowed to reflect on the things that were bothering him. He just could not see how this planet could be their home, especially among humans. While Optimus was correct that they did have goodness in them, as a whole, this race was still primitive and violent. How on earth could they live among a species whose nature was to destroy the things that they felt threatened their position on the top of the earthly food chain?

Not only that, but lately something's been off. He felt that there was something on this planet reaching out for him. It felt familiar. He did not think it was another Autobot, he would have picked up a signal. This was more of an instinctual, as the humans called it "gut" feeling. And Ironhide was never one to ignore his instincts.

So it was with quick message to the others, telling them that he needed some alone time (which he really did, just to clear his processors) he took off, just rolling along the roads, making turns where he felt he should make them. He noticed that as he went further west that this feeling got stronger. It felt a lot like that feeling he had when he was hiding among the stars before landing to Earth. He felt that something somewhere was changing, something he should know about.

Primus, he was going to give himself a meltdown with all of this stuff.

Nevertheless, he continued to his unknown destination, hoping that things would make sense once he got there.


	5. Realizations

Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers _or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. _Transformers belongs to DreamWorks Pictures and Hasbro and Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while with no prospect of monetary gain. (And I'm broke, so no suing me, okay?)

Hmm, I'm not happy with this chapter. I like a few more disturbing bits but as far as everything else… I'm disappointed. I think I could have done better.

Warnings: Buffy being mean, Dawn being… Dawn… Glory being… mad violent.

"So, Ironhide took off?"

"Yes, he said he-"Ratchet stopped and glared down at the smaller Autobot who let out an annoyed chirp as his vocals were zapped by lasers."-Bumblebee, stop squirming! Do you want to speak properly again? Be still!" The medical officer let out an annoyed sigh before addressing the small human female who sat off to the side. "He said he needed some time to be alone."

Mikaela gave a small nod and leaned back against the tree, reaching over to pet Mojo. They were all, minus Ironhide; at the lookout that over looked the city of Tranquility, Nevada. Considering that Mojo was here, maybe the fact that Ironhide wasn't was a good thing. The little Chihuahua still had a habit of peeing on Ironhide's foot. Apparently ever since Ironhide threatened to blow him p, Mojo had to let the robot know who was boss… and she and Sam were left sponging off Ironhide's foot while begging him not to blast the dog into next week.

Looking to her left, she looked up at the towering form of Optimus who sat a couple of yards away from her.

"Any idea where he went?"

Optimus' optics dimmed as he scanned for the missing Autobot. They brightened again as he spoke. "He's currently heading west toward the state called "California." And I'm not too worried. He's had a lot on his mind lately."

"California?!" Sam said in disbelief. "Man, I want to go…"

"They just said he wanted to be alone, Sam, so I don't think Ironhide would've taken you."

"Arf!" Mojo barked, apparently agreeing with the brunette girl. No, wait; he just wanted her to scratch behind his ears again.

Optimus had a sneaking suspicion as to what was bothering his weapons specialist. He was still not convinced that this planet could be their home. Optimus knew that Ironhide was not the biggest fan of the human race. He had expressed that clearly when they were on the hunt for the Allspark and needed to be reminded that they were not that different from the humans once. He hoped with time that Ironhide would come to respect the humans as much as the rest of the Autobots did.

However, something had seemed off with Ironhide. Every now and then he caught the black Autobot looking towards the west, only to shake his head and go about his business. Optimus had asked what the problem was but Ironhide always said it was nothing. Optimus assumed that he, like the rest of them, was homesick and just left it alone.

The sound of a rock song pulled Optimus out of his thoughts and looked down as Mikaela answered her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, babe. What's up?"

Mikaela's face twisted into an expression of pure annoyance. "What do you want, Trent?"

Sam's head snapped up at the name and 'Bee tried to turn his head to see what was going on until Ratchet gave him a pointed glare.

"I'm headed out to California. Why don't you ditch the loser and tag along?"

"Bye, Trent." And with that the brunette snapped her phone shut. She turned to Sam who was looking at her intently. "He was at again." She explained. "This time he wanted me to go to California with him." She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the tree. "God, he just doesn't know when to quit!"

"Hey, Optimus. Can you send a message to Ironhide and get him to run over Trent?" Sam asked and the giant mech let out laugh.

"Sam, you know we do not harm humans…" he chided.

"Please…" Mikaela begged, giving him her best puppy-dog face.

"Request denied."

"You're no fun." Mikaela pouted.

"Yeah, really…" Sam agreed and Optimus gave them a small smile.

"I apologize."

S.S.S.S.S

Finally exiting off the freeway, Ironhide found himself in a city. It was called Sunnydale, California. Following his instincts has led him to this place. He could that strange presence, tugging at him stronger now.

_What is going on here?! I'm going to blow a gasket if this keeps up. Why am I even here?_

With an irritated rumble of his engine, he turned down the nearest street and parked in front of an occult shop to rest as well as sit and think.

S.S.S.S.S

"And on top of that, you have to stop bothering Mom."

Dawn could not believe this was happening. When she and Buffy first arrived home it seemed like her older sister was going to try and make peace with her. At first the talk had began with Buffy telling her that she did not mean to isolate her and that she would try to get along with her better but Dawn had to change too. Then when Dawn asked exactly what was she doing, Buffy did a total one eighty! She went on a total rant about how the younger girl was annoying and selfish and didn't think of anyone but herself and she needed to grow up and stop being such a baby. And now she had the nerve to say she was bothering her mother?!

"I don't bother Mom!" Dawn cried.

"Yes, you do!" Buffy snapped back. "She's really sick and you don't even see that! You just want her to play games with you and check your homework when she's obviously not feeling well. You don't even care that something's wrong with her! All you care about is yourself!"

The brunette's lips trembled and her eyes spilled over with tears. Without a word she turned and ran to the front door and out of the house.

"Where are you going?!" Buffy shouted after her.

"Leave me alone!"

Buffy sighed and sank back down to the couch. She hadn't meant for it to go that far. All was going well at first but then she just snapped. Everything she's been feeling just bubbled over. Especially with their Mom sick. She just knew that something was trying to get at her by hurting her mom. But, it wasn't like she was wrong. Dawn needed to hear it, maybe then she'd grow up.

Right now, she had to figure out what was hurting her Mom. She stood, wrote a quick note for her mom and grabbed her keys, heading for the Magic Box. She's worry about Dawn later.

S.S.S.S.S

"Stupid Buffy. Stupid Buffy I hate her."

"Dawn?"

Dawn stopped when she heard her name and turned around. "Hey, Tara."

"Heh, I'm… I'm g- guessing you and Buffy had a fight?" the shy witch asked with a half smile.

Tightly folding her arms across her chest she looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"O-okay. So, where you headed?" Dawn looked up.

"I don't know… Not the Magic Box. Buffy'll be there and I don't want to see her."

"Well, how about we just go for a walk?" Tara suggested.

"Okay."

The two girls chatted as they made their way around Sunnydale. Well, Dawn chattered and Tara listened. Every now and then Tara would say something.

"You're the only one I know besides Willow who likes school that much." Tara said as they stopped in front of a dollar store to get school supplies for Dawn.

Dawn smiled and was about to reply but suddenly stopped. That feeling was back again, the same one on the freeway but stronger. It was like something was here and it was here for her.

"Dawn? Dawn?"

Snapping out of it, the girl turned to look up at the confused witch. "Sorry… I just… it's nothing."

Tara gave her an empathetic look. "Still thinking about the fight with Buffy?"

The mention of her sister's name soured her mood. "Still don't want to talk about that."

"Sorry."

They headed into the store and split up, Tara browsing food aisles and Dawn looking at various stationary. She eased passed an older boy who stopped and gave her an appreciative leer.

"Hey, sexy."

Dawn stopped and whirled around, cheeks flaming. "Huh?"

The boy had to be about seventeen or eighteen. His bright blue eyes peered into hers and she smiled an amazingly bright smile at her. "The name's Trent."

"Hi… I'm Dawn."

He stepped closer to her. "Well, listen Dawn, a few of my buddies are heading to L.A and we just made a pit stop here to stock up. You wanna tag along?"

Dawn silently squealed in delight. These guys actually thought she was hot! And they wanted her to come with them. But, Dawn was no fool, she heard about what happened to young girls who fall for plows like this one. She opened her mouth to turn them down but it turned out to be a wasted effort.

"E-excuse me, guys." Tara said walking up to them, her normal shy demeanor replaced with a firm stare. "She will not be going with you. She's only fifteen. "

Trent looked back and forth between the stern older woman and the clearly infuriated girl and shrugged. "Whatever. Come on, guys let's-Whoa, hello…" Trent said as he spotted a beautiful woman with curly blonde hair and a tight red dress on, carrying a Saks bag and looking clearly frustrated. "Maybe we should hang around here a little longer." And with that he and his lackeys left the store.

Dawn turned to Tara with an outraged look on her face. "Tara, I can't believe you did that!"

Tara looked hurt at the younger girl's tone but didn't back down. "Dawn, those guys could've done anything to you. I can't believe you were actually-"

"I was going to tell them no." Dawn interrupted. "I'm not stupid. I hear about stuff like this in school all the time, especially when Spring Break comes up. I could've handled it myself!"

The witch instantly felt guilty and opened her mouth to apologize but Dawn would her none of it. "God, you're just like Buffy. Does everyone think I'm just some stupid kid?!"

She angrily turned and left the store, school supplies now unimportant as well as the fact that it was now dusk. "I'm going home. Don't follow me."

S.S.S.S.S.S.S

_All right, let's get this straight. You've had this nagging feeling for some time now, right before you even came here. Now, it gets stronger and its strongest here, in this city. Now… WHAT IS IT?!_

Ironhide was becoming more and more frustrated. He seriously did not enjoy a wild goose chase as the humans called it. What the pit was going on here? He just wanted to figure out what this was so he could get on with his life. His life here… on Earth.

That thought was still going to take some getting used to. He still did not see how life on this planet was going to be easy. Sure, they had a few human friends in Sam, Mikaela, William Lennox, Robert Epps, Maggie and her weird hacker friend Glen but would it be enough. They would constantly have to hide for fear of being exposed. Was that any way to live?

Tired of sitting in park, he rolled out down the street, passing a short blonde woman who entered the occult shop.

S.S.S.S.S.

"Ah, Buffy. I'm glad I caught you." Giles said as the Slayer entered the shop. "The sphere you brought to me, well I've uncovered more than expected about it."

"Well, what is it?"

"It's called the, Um-hold on. Anya!"

"Huh?"

"You're supposed to say 'Have a good day' after dealing with the customers."

"But, if I have their money who cares how their day goes?" the ex demon asked.

Giles was about to rant at the red-head before Xander thankfully intervened.

"Anya, let's take a little break and have a chat about Retail Etiquette…"

Giles let out a frustrated sigh before turning back to Buffy and opening a book. "Well, yes the orb is called the Dagon's Sphere. It is meant as a protective device against a great primordial evil, a… That Which Cannot Be Named."

Buffy stood up. "I should go back to the warehouse where I found it. See if I can uncover something or find out who planted it there."

"Buffy, please… do be careful. Anything that is unnamed is usually a force of great worship or evil… or both."

"I'll be fine, Giles. Don't worry about me."

"It's my job to worry."

Buffy gave Giles' hand a gentle squeeze and turned to leave, nearly running into Tara who appeared out of breath.

"Tara, you okay?" Buffy asked.

Y-yeah, but its Dawn."

"What'd she do now?" Buffy asked annoyed.

Tara explained everything from her running into Dawn after their fight all the way to her own fight with the girl.

"I can't believe I just assumed that she would go with those boys." Tara said guiltily.

"I can't either. That's usually Buffy's area." Anya said from the register as she counted the money.

"Anya…" Xander said nervously, not wanting to upset Buffy.

"Well, it is. I wouldn't think that about the girl. She's an annoying girl, but I don't think she's stupid. Only Buffy does."

"I don't think she's stupid!"

"But you called her a stupid idiot more than once behind her back. Usually people who think other people stupid call them stupid idiots. Well, I do at least. And I never called her that neither has Xander, or Willow or Giles or Tara. Only you."

"Anya!" Willow yelled.

Buffy felt a wave of guilt wash over her but then shook her head. She would deal with this later and apologize to Dawn, after she figured out what this was. "I have to go to the warehouse."

Everyone watched her leave before they all turned to glare at Anya who just looked confused. "What?"

S.S.S.S.S

Dawn was about to turn down her street when she suddenly stopped. That strange feeling came back again. Only this time there was no one around to follow her. Making a quick decision she headed down the street to the park, breaking off a pointy branch as a make-shift stake. Like she kept trying to tell everyone, she wasn't stupid.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Y'know, you're being very difficult. You're the one making me do this. Why do you make me do this?"

Glory stopped and regarded the monk who sat tied and gagged in a chair in the middle of the warehouse they were standing in. This sneaky little worm had managed to get away when she finally found him and his little toadies in the Czech Republic but it was too late. They took her Key, did some hocus pocus and now it was probably anywhere and could be anything like a doorknob or a sweat sock or something! She murdered all of them but this one had escaped back to the Hellmouth. She's being all nice and letting him live and he wouldn't tell her where the Key was!

"Y'know, it's not like I wanted to be here. You think I wanted to be stuck in this stupid mortal coil with…ugh… people?" she shivered in disgust. "I'm the one hurting here! You're being so selfish. All I want is the Key! Tell me where it is?! Why can't you tell me?" she fell to her knees and began to sob but the stopped and blinked. "Oh, yeah… that's why." She stood and violently ripped the duct tape off of his face.

"Now…" she said, eyes growing cold. "You are going to tell me where the Key is." She reached down and grabbed at his crotch and squeezed, the monk screamed in pain. "Or I'll make that whole celibate thing a hell of a lot easier for ya."

The monk gasped and screamed but forced himself to focus on the deranged blonde woman in front of him. "I… will… tell you…"

Glory's face broke into a hopeful smile and she loosened her grip. "Yes?"

The man's eyes hardened. "Nothing."

Glory sighed and gave a disappointed shrug. "Oh well, can't say I didn't negotiate."

And with that, she squeezed the man's groin, meticulously manicured nails digging into the man's penis through his robes. "Wow, that's a waste. You had a lot going on down there, monky. Could've kept these earthly bitches happy…" she gave another squeeze and gave him a puzzled look. "Well, if you're not going to use, you don't need it." With nothing but a slight twist of her wrist the sound of flesh and cloth ripping echoed throughout the room.

Glory lifted her wrist and in her hand was ripped cloth from his robes as well as the remnants of his penis. She fixed the gasping and writhing man with a sultry stare and ran her tongue along the tip of the severed member.

"Oh, you probably would've liked that more if it was still attached, huh?" she tossed it to the side of the room where it landed with a sickening splat and placed her hands on her hips, staring at him the way a mother does a naughty child. "Well, that's what you get for not telling me where my key is!"

"Oh… my God."

Glory whirled around and blinked at the small blonde woman who stood in the warehouse. "What? What do you want?"

Buffy stared at the blonde woman and the ruined man in horror before rushing Glory. Glory simply wore a look of annoyance on her face but then gasped when Buffy punched her in the face. Glory gave the petite woman a clearly disbelieving and insulted look.

"What the Hell?!" Glory screamed and Buffy punched her again. "You can't go around hitting people! Were you raised by wolves? Do you have any idea how rude that is?" Glory's whole little etiquette speech was spoke all while Buffy repeatedly punched her in the face.

"Fine, be that way!" With that Glory grabbed Buffy by the ponytail and threw her into a wall and the force of the impact made the wall crack. She didn't even have time to get up as the freakishly strong woman yanked the Slayer up by her shoulders.

"Y'know…" Glory said as she punched Buffy repeatedly. "This kicking the shit out of you is taking up a lot of precious time. I hope you feel special." She punctuated each word with a punch before ending the sentence with a kick in the gut, sending Buffy flying. She aimed her next punch at Buffy's head but the Slayer ducked and Glory's fist went through the wall.

"Hey, I got an idea… How about I redecorate, using your blood for the paint job!?" she squealed excitedly, grabbing the weakened girl and hurling where she landed next to the monk who was still screaming, bleeding to death.

Buffy stood and untied the monk, looking away from the wound at his crotch. She grabbed him and helped him out of the chair, pulling him towards the exit as fast as she could.

Glory gave an annoyed look. "Hey! That's mine!" she was ready to give chase until the heel of her new Versace shoe got stuck in the crack in the floor. She stopped and pulled off the shoe, highly irritated that the heel broke. Throwing a tantrum, she jumped up and down like an angry toddler. The great force of her little pity party shook the foundation of the building, crumbling it around her. She briefly let out an "Oh, shi-" but the rest of the obscenity was cut off as she was trapped underneath the rubble.

Buffy dragged the bleeding man away from the demolished building.

"Stop. Please." He gasped out. "I am done. My journey is done."

"Oh, no, no. No metaphors. I'm going to get you to a hospital and…" Buffy forced herself to look and instantly knew there would be no saving the man from the horrible wound that hellbitch placed on him.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here in time."

"Do not worry about me. But, you must… " He gasped and grimaced in pain, "you must protect the Key."

"The Dagon Sphere?"

"No, the sphere was meant to keep away the Beast. My…" he grimaced again. "My brethren and I, we… took the Key, gave it shape and form, molded it flesh… made it… human and sent it to you as your…sister."

At that moment Buffy's world came crashing down.

S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S

_Ahh… much better._

After a quick drive, Ironhide had found himself at a nice secluded grassy hillside. Scanning the area and finding nothing, he transformed into his true form. It felt so much better to actually stand and walk. Now he could fully survey his surroundings.

The area he was n was secluded. It was not too far from the city but it seemed that everyone went in after dark. Not just the children, but everyone except for a few and the seemed jumpy at best when he rode by in the dark. Their heart rates were high and their respiration was irregular. He expected that of young women, especially after he learn of the horrible crimes that were committed against them. But, everyone even those who looked like they caused trouble seemed on edge as if fearing something worse than themselves.

He stopped and looked up. There was that feeling again, and it seemed like it was getting closer. What in the name of Primus was happening here? Why couldn't he just get a straight answer?

"Oh… my…God…"

Ironhide stiffened at the sound of a human female and slowly looked down. There staring up at him was a wide-eyed, slack-jawed girl.

"Oh…slag."


	6. The Meeting

The Meeting

_There's a giant robot staring at me._

"Oh..."  
_  
What the fuck? _

"...my..."

_The Hellmouth is just weird! _

"...God."

Dawn stared up in amazement at the giant black robot in front of her. He had to be at least twenty feet tall. The moonlight glinted shone off of his onyx body and into her eyes, making her squint slightly. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed he was not like a regular robot. For starters it didn't seem robotic, well aside from the metal and hydraulics and wires, but there was something in its face. The way it looked at her, as if it recognized her in some way. It was weird, she felt the same way, that nagging odd feeling she's been having for a while was now stronger than it had ever been. She feels a strange connection or something towards this creature and unconsciously takes a step towards it.

_Oh, this is just fragging great!_

Just wonderful. A human spotted him. He should have known better than to transform into his regular mode in an unknown city, but there was no one here on this overlook. How was he supposed to know a human female would come stumbling out of the vegetation?

Staying perfectly still Ironhide observed the girl. She was an adolescent, a few years younger than Sam and Mikaela. She was height and weight proportionate and attractive by human standards. Her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were wide in awe. She did not seem afraid, just stunned. Her eyes met his optics and her expression relaxed and she took a step towards him.

It was at that moment of eye/optic contact that he noticed that strange tug he had been feeling for a while now increase. His mortification at being discovered dissipated and he began to unconsciously lower himself closer to her level as the small organic took slow steps toward the mech.

Inside of the doors to its chamber, Ironhide's Spark was crackled and pulsed. The very presence of this girl caused him to react. He had no idea what was going on, only that he had to be closer to her. He was now low enough that his face was level with her head. All that was need now was for her to come closer.

Something inside of Dawn was reacting to him. She could feel her blood, or something in her blood, reaching for the giant in front of her. Her heart was pounding erratically. What was happening to her, she did not know. All she knew was that she had to be closer to him. She had to touch him. She just needed to take one more step.

**THUD!**

"Wha-UMPH!!"

Her sketcher got caught in an upturned tree root and she fell flat on her face.

Common sense returned to both as the spell was broken.

That initial wariness that was instilled in the girl as a result of being on the Hellmouth returned. She lifted her head and rolled to her back, scrambling away backwards on her hands and feet.

"Wh-what the Hell are you?!"

Ironhide drew himself back up, though not entirely. He needed to show the girl that he meant her no harm. The last thing he needed was for her to run off and alert everyone in this town to his presence.

"Easy girl. I'm not going to hurt you."

What was strange was that she knew that he would not harm her. How she knew, don't ask her. Intuition? Despite her instincts telling her the gargantuan in front of her was harmless, well, to her at least, that old Sunnydale cynicism managed to creep up. Cerulean eyes narrowed as she tried her best to look unafraid.

"How do I know that?"

The girl was trying to look fearless but her heart rate and inability to control her respiration gave her away. Her adrenaline levels were raised, her body preparing for "fight or flight" defenses. He lowered back down to her level and his optics flicked between both of her eyes. She blinked as she heard the sound of his gears shifting and clucking as he moved.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already." He said gruffly. "I don't harm humans, girl."

She believed it, but was still wary. A new, even more horrid though entered her head. "You're some leftover Initiative experiment, aren't you?"

Ultramarine optics narrowed in confusion. Initiative experiment? That was new one. By the sound of the name, it was another government group... and it probably caused trouble. They usually did if Sector Seven was any indication. And judging by the look of dread on her face as she asked the question, he was right. However he had a feeling this group caused more than problems than Sector Seven.

"Nah... Couldn't be." She was speaking again. "If the Initiative had something as kick-ass as you lying around, Adam would've been toast." She gave him a hesitant smile and a slight half shrug. "Besides, the government isn't that smart to come up with something this rad."

Kick-ass? He had to agree there. But rad?

"What is 'rad'?" He could look up the meaning, but he would rather hear it from the girl herself.

Dawn blinked in surprise. She was pretty caught up in watching his face as she spoke. Even though he had steel for skin his face was very expressive. "Oh um... it means, y'know... cool, awesome." She stopped and a sudden look of realization came across her face. "You're way too advanced to be from here... and I've seen some of the most advanced." She shuddered as memories of Molech and Ted filtered through her head for a moment. "You're not from here, are you? The government isn't nowhere smart enough to build something like you."

His face plates lifted into something akin to a smirk. "What's your name, girl?"

"D-Dawn... Dawn Summers."

He gave a slight nod. "Ironhide."

S.S.S.S.S

_Gave it shape and form..._

_Molded it flesh_

_Made it human_

_Sent it to you_

Leather boots clunked slowly against the pavement as the Slayer trudged her way home. The holy man had died several minutes ago, the severe loss of blood too much for his body. The blonde had left him there, too shocked to even consider alerting the authorities. The words of the dying monk echoing themselves in her head nonstop.

_She's not my sister..._

Her memories were built, they weren't her own. How was she supposed to deal with something like that? Oh, Lord, then if her memories were built that meant that her friends, her Mom, even Spike and maybe Angel and Cordelia's...

Her right foot stopped an inch from the ground.

Her Mom. Oh, God!

How was she going to handle the fact that her precious baby was not her precious baby? And with this... whatever it was that was doing this to her, she couldn't handle any big shockers. No, she had to keep this a secret, from her Mom, her friends...

_I should at least tell Giles._

She nodded at the thought. Giles as the mystical go-to guy when it came to this kind of thing. She'd tell him first thing in the morning. But right now, she just wanted to get home. To get home and see her mother and her annoying little sis-

She sighed.

This was really going to take a long time to get used to.

And right now her little not-actually-real sister was probably bouncing around to her iPod, giggling over boys, crushing on Xander, being all normal and... stuff.

S.S.S.S.S.S.S

_  
_"So... why are you here? In Sunnydale, I mean."

Dawn had gotten herself comfortable and was now sitting on the ground, her knees drawn up to her chest. She still couldn't shake off that whole attraction thing she had with the robot. What was it about him that made her go all into zombie-mode? Giving her head a light shake, she focused on making light conversation… with a giant, obviously alien robot.

She blinked as he eyed her, something akin to a wary expression on his face.

"It's none of your concern."

More than a little disappointed that he didn't trust her, Dawn's head drooped a bit at his brush-off. "It's okay, y'know?" she said softly. "I... I won't tell anyone I saw you."

Ultramarine optics regarded the girl for a moment. She wasn't going to tell anyone? "Why?"

Why wasn't she going to say anything? Was he going to do something evil? Somehow she knew he wouldn't. She could just feel that he was a good guy. That was eerie in itself. How could she just know if someone was good or not? Hey, maybe Tara's whole intuition thing rubbing off on her? Well, maybe it was just afraid she'd run off and tell someone. That made sense. She'd seen enough movies as well as spent enough time on the Hellmouth to know that people in general usually wanted to kill things that were obviously stronger than them. Besides, people here had enough to freak out about without adding giant metal aliens into the mix.

"Because... people are already pretty jumpy here. They don't need another reason to spaz." She explained, leaving her intuitive feelings out of the explanation.

He could understand that. He had noticed while driving that the residents of this town were jumpy. As dusk approached he had seen a few people scurrying to get home. Not only young boys and girls, but older people as well. It almost seemed as if they were afraid of the night, or whatever the night brought with it. He understood why the youngsters would hurry home, as well as young girls but even the humans who looked like they were there to cause trouble were nervous. It was strange.

Which brought up another question: Why was an adolescent human female out at such a late hour?

"If I may ask, why are you out so late?"

The fight with Buffy and then with Tara filtered through her mind and brought a scowl to her face. "My sister's a real pain." She muttered. "If she isn't ignoring me then she's being a total-" she stopped and let out a sound of pure frustration. "Sometimes I just wanna jump up and punch her in the face!" She then gave a sigh. "And then I'd just get smushed because of her freaky gorilla strength." She looked up at the mech and flushed in embarrassment at the blank look on his face. "Sorry..."

She then noticed how dark it really was. She checked her cell watch and gasped. "Shit! I gotta go... Mom must be freaked."

As she stood, she mentally berated herself. How could she stay out so late? Especially with her Mom sick. She needed as little stress as possible and here she was, staying out past her curfew and on the Hellmouth no less. "I gotta run... bye."

She heard the mech behind her let out a disbelieving grunt. "You plan to walk home at this time of night?" He ignored the twinge of dread he felt at the idea of her walking through town alone in the dark and instead focused on the sheer stupidity of her choice. "Do you not know the crimes that are committed against young females such as yourself every day, especially at night? Are your mental processors insufficient?"

Her jaw dropped. Insufficient mental processors?

_Did he just call me a retard! That…ass!!_

Her face flushed and her fists clenched as her anger hit critical mass before she could get a handle on it. "Who are you calling an idiot, you giant hunk of junk!?"

"The foolish human female who is wandering around in the dark with no defense aside from a pointy stick." He suddenly missed Mikaela. She was an intake of fresh air compared to this foolish child. And did she just call him a hunk of junk?

_No, I can't shoot the human... CAN'T shoot the human._

Glancing at her fallen stake, she flushed brighter, this time with embarrassment but refused to admit she was wrong. Besides, the stake was more affective against what she really had to worry about in this God forsaken city. Folding her arms across her chest, she fixed him with her best 'Oh, you think you're so smart' look.

"Well, unless you plan on taking me home, I don't see how else I'm-"

Her words died on her lips as she watched the mech's body fold in on itself. Her jaw dropped for the second time that night as she watched parts of his body fold into each other, one part replacing another and he shrank in size. The sounds of gears shifting, parts moving and metal clinking filled the air as he shrank in front of her, a black GMC Topkick now in the place of the rude robot.

"What…what the Hell?!"

The door swung open and the engine revved. His voice was gruff and annoyed as it came through the radio. "Get in."

The teenager stood in stunned silence, not making a move.

"Get in now or I will allow you to walk!" He growled, impatient that she hadn't moved.

She ran for the truck at those words. She was a bit apprehensive at getting into a truck that was actually an alien robot. It freaked her out, but the thought of walking home alone in vamp land freaked her out more. Besides, if he was going to hurt her, he would have already. Besides, he was so huge that if he wanted to kidnap her, he wouldn't have to gain her trust. He could've just snatched her up like something from a bad monster movie. He actually seemed to be worried about her. He just had a rude way of showing it.

Reluctantly, she climbed into the driver's side door of the vehicle. She placed her bare hand on the seat and gasped when a strange charge shot through her entire body. She gripped the seat harder as a flash went through her mind, an image of a giant robot. It was a lot like that dream she had in the Magic Box. Coming back to herself, she shook her head.

_Okay... that was weird... _

The moment her hand touched him, Ironhide had a similar experience. His mind went back to a time before the war, a swirly green shimmer fusing into his being, filling his mind with knowledge and his body with pleasure. He shuddered involuntarily at the memory, eliciting a yelp from the girl inside of him.

"Hey, you okay?"

Regaining himself, Ironhide shook off the odd feeling and turned his attention back to the human. "Where is your residence?"

_S.S.S.S.S _

"Mom...Dawn, I'm home."

Buffy stepped into the house and glanced around the living room but there was no sight of her mother. She peeked into the kitchen and dining room but still no sign of her mother or Dawn.

She made a quick run upstairs and eased the door open to her mother's room, sighing in relief at the sight of the older woman lying on her bed in a peaceful sleep, soft snores escaping her parted lips.

She went down the hall and knocked on the door to Dawn's room. If still felt unreal to her, but she knew that she couldn't let the young girl know about what she was. Finding out she was the Slayer had rattled Buffy when she was Dawn's age... wait, Dawn was really only a few months old. Whatever, when Buffy was like that, finding out she had some Chosen One destiny freaked her to the core. How was Dawn going to the news that she wasn't human?

_She won't... because she'll never know. _

The monk told her to protect Dawn, and she would do that, whether it be from physical danger, maddening information or crazed Hell-skanks, she'd protect her.

If the girl would ever open the door.

_S.S.S.S _

"I'm sorry I snapped."

They had drove in silence for quite a while after the strange... what was that, mind swap? Energy transfer? Premonition. It was similar to the dream she had so maybe it was a vision or something. Buffy got those a lot, so why couldn't she.

_No thinking of Buffy... _

Ironhide was silent for a moment but eventually gave in. "Don't worry about it." He noticed a car coming down the road. "Put your hands on the wheel, but no stepping on the gas."

The girl's eyes widened but she obeyed. This was so cool! So, this is what it felt like to drive. Well, she wasn't really driving, but it was cool none the less!

And though she did not get another charge, she felt odd. Like it was right for her to have her hands on him. Like something lost was finally found. She shook her head at the odd thought.

_You're losing it Dawnie. _

Remembering her apology, she continued. Eyes lowering for a moment as she reluctantly spoke.

"And... yeah, it was stupid for me to be out this late." She gave a sigh and leaned back. "But... I was just so...mad. " She looked at the steering wheel as if he could see her. She blinked when she noticed the strange symbol in the center of the wheel. What was that? She's never seen a GMC car with that logo before. Shaking it off, she continued her explanation. "Haven't you ever snapped when something pissed you off?"

Ironhide gave a small chuckle, trying to ignore the odd feeling he was getting as her hands touched the wheel. "Does nearly blowing up a Chihuahua count?"

Her eyes widened. "What? Why?"

He gave an irritated rumble. "It leaked lubricants all over my foot!"

It took her a moment to process what he said. "Oh! He took a whiz on you?"

He was silent as he ran a search for the meaning. "Yes..." he groused after a couple of seconds.

The girl stifled a chuckle. "So you see what I mean? And...would you honestly want to be around someone who did nothing but make you feel like crap?"

Memories of harsh treatments from her sister came back to her and her hands tightened on the wheel

"Then don't."

She blinked. "Don't what? Be around her?" Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Are you saying I should run away?"

"No, that would be worse that dealing with it. I'm saying don't let your sister make you feel that way."

Dawn scoffed. "That's easier said than done. I mean, she's Miss Perfect at Everything! 'Oh, look at me. I'm all blonde and prettier and stronger than you.' She's either ignoring me or giving me crap, and she thinks she can just because she's the oldest and the Sl...special." She sighed. "Mom lets her because she's all... special."

"Special?" Sam and Mikaela spoke of special children at their school. What was the word Sam used to describe them? "Are you saying she's... slow? Is that the word for it?"

Dawn broke into a fit of giggles. Oh, God! He was funny! "No, she's not slow... I mean, she's pretty bimboish but not slow. She just...she's just more advanced, I guess, in athletic stuff... and I'm a big klutz, so..." she trailed off sadly.

"If she gives you "crap" don't take it. People will only do as much to you as you allow them to. That is true of any race. If you take the "crap" it will continue. Stand up to her."

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent..."

Dawn's mind flashed back to the quote in her history book. Eleanor Roosevelt said that and she was an awesome woman. And she didn't have any special Chosen powers. She sat up straight with new resolve. "I'm not taking Buffy's crap anymore!"

"Good for you." He made one last turn and pulled in front of her house. "Is this your residence?"

Sighing sadly, she nodded. "Yeah." And she was just beginning to have fun.

The door opened for her and she gave a slight jump but recovered. She slid out of the car and stood in front of him. "Thanks... for everything."

"Don't mention it..." He then added. "Seriously, don't mention it."

The brunette shook her head. "I won't. I promise." She started up the path to her house and stopped, looking over her shoulder. "Hey, am I going to see you again?"

"Doubtful."

Her expression changed from hopeful to sad. "Yeah... it'd be a little weird hanging out with a twenty something foot tall robot." She gave him a slight smile. "Well, bye Ironhide."

There was a silence but she heard a rumbled "Goodbye, Dawn" as she made her way to the door.

_S.S.S.S _

_  
_"Dawn?" Buffy asked. "Are you asleep?"

Carefully turning the knob, Buffy eased the door open and peeked into the younger girl's room. Panic yanked at her when she saw the girl's bed was still neatly made. She was not dancing around to whatever was on her iPod, nor was she sitting in the chair in the corner. She wasn't here!

Oh, God! Where is she?! Did Glory find out?

She ran to the telephone and quickly dialed Giles' number. He answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Giles Is Dawn at the Magic Box? Is she with Will or anyone else?"

"Um... no, I, um, haven't seen her since the last time she was here. Why, is something the matter?"

Buffy ran a hand through her hair. "Oh, God... she's not here! I've gotta go look for her."

"Buffy, what's going on? What's-"

Hanging up the phone, Buffy rushed down the stairs and flung the door open, nearly crashing into Dawn who was just pulling out her keys. The startled teenager yelped and took a step back.

"Dude! Crazed much?"

The Slayer stood there wide-eyed for a moment before pulling Dawn into a hug who blinked at this sudden display of affection. "Dawnie, I was so worried!"

Dawn was about to reply when Buffy noticed the black Topkick that was just pulling away from her house. Her brow scrunched in a frown and she turned back to Dawn. "Where were you? And who was that?"

_Crap... think of a lie. Think of a lie. _

"That was a friend." She lied smoothly. "From school. We were studying and he had his brother drop me off."

"What were you doing out so late?! And didn't you even call anyone?"

Dawn's demeanor went from false calm to cold anger. She was not going to let Buffy do this to her. She was not taking any of her crap! "What, you told me to stop bothering Mom, so I blew off some steam at a friend's while you did your Chosen Slayer protect the innocent lala crap."

_Protect the innocent... _

The monk's words floated through her mind again.

_She is innocent in this... _

Grabbing Dawn's arm, she literally dragged the girl into the house. "Come on, who knows what's out here."

Not in the mood to deal with Buffy right now, she headed towards the stairs. "I'm going to bed."

Buffy watched as her little sister went up the stairs. Her eyes widened briefly at thought then softened. Yes, she was her sister. Regardless to whether or not she was born, adopted or dropped off by monks, she was her sister and she would protect her.

"Dawn."

Dawn stopped but did not turn, tensing herself for a verbal fight. "What?"

"Just... don't stay out so late. And be sure to let us know where you are."

That was it? No self righteous Buffy yelling? Boy, she must've faced off against something big. "Yeah, sure... Sorry." She turned and headed to her room.

Buffy was about to head to the kitchen when something stopped her.  
_  
If she was studying... where was her bag? _

_S.S.S.S.S _

With the girl now out of his body, Ironhide could think clearly. Something was clearly off with that girl. Why did he feel so drawn to her and why did her touch bring back memories of that strange swirl that broke its way into his world and fused with him... and a delightful fusion it was...

_Slag it, Ironhide! Stay focused! _

The girl must have had contact with that thing. It was the only explanation he could come up with. And considering it had fused with him entirely for a moment, he must have recognized the being and felt drawn to it. He didn't like this. If he felt drawn to whatever this thing was, then who knew what would happen to him if something happened to it. He would have to alert this to the others.

He just had to brace himself for the initial teasing from Bumblebee once he knew of the overload incident.

_Oh, this is going to be a fun day... _

With a weary rev of his engine, Ironhide headed back toward the interstate, making his way to Tranquility.

S.S.S.S.S

Dawn flopped on her bed and squealed. Today was the most awesome day every! Fight with Buffy and Tara aside, it kicked ass. She so had to write this down.

Yanking out her notebook_ and a pen, she rolled over onto her stomach and began to write. _

_Dear diary, _

_Oh my God! Today was so awesome! Well, not at first, but then it just got awesome. At first Buffy was being her usual Know-it-all self. She was acting all nice at first and then she flipped out on me, calling me a brat and selfish. I didn't want to hear it so I left. I ran into Tara and things were good at first, but then when some older guys started hitting on me (That kicked ass!) she scares them away when I could have told them no myself! God, it's one thing to have Buffy treat me like I'm a stupid kid but I thought Tara knew me better than that! I was so pissed I just left. _

_I was about to go home when the weirdest thing happened. I felt this strange... pull. And I just started walking until I got to Kingman's Bluff. I've been feeling that for a while now like on the freeway and when I was with Tara, but it was so strong this time. (Oh, I did bring a stake, I'm not stupid) When I got there, I saw the weirdest thing! A 20ft tall robot. I was so drawn to it at first but then I tripped on a tree root and then spazzed. I think it was drawn to me too, though I'm not sure. But, I realized he wouldn't hurt me. He could've easily done it. I just know he's not from earth, though he didn't say if he was or wasn't. I can just tell. I mean, really. No way the government could come up with something that kick ass. _

_His name's Ironhide... I guess it suits him. He seemed all gruff and... battle worn. A lot like Angel, but not mopey and brooding. Well, maybe a little broody but no moping. _

_He kind of pissed me off to. He called me stupid! Okay, yeah, being out that late was stupid but did he have to be so mean about it. But, he was nice enough to give me a ride home.He turned into a car! How cool is that! And he actually listened to me, and that was the most awesome part. Someone listening to me not because Mom made them, or because they felt sorry for me, but just because they could. Then he told me that I shouldn't take anymore of Buffy's crap. And you know what, he's right. Her "I'm The Slayer" crap isn't going to work with me anymore! _

With sigh she closed the book and stuck it between her mattress. She was about to change into her pajamas when a rough knock followed by her door being opened interrupted her.

"Buffy, the Hell?!"

The petite blonde stood in front of her slightly taller sister and fixed the young girl with a glare. "You said you were studying... where's your bag?"

_Uh-oh _

"Huh?" She asked innocently.

"You didn't come in, or leave the house with your books." Buffy stepped closer to her. "What were you really doing?"

Dawn fidgeted and squirmed. Shit, how was she going to get out of this one?__

If she gives you "crap" don't take it. People will only do as much to you as you allow them to. 

Ironhide's words came back to her and the fidgeting stopped She wasn't putting up with this! She took a step forward and fixed the Slayer with a glare of her own, secretly relishing the fact she was taller.

"None of your business."

Buffy was taken aback at the tone in her little sister's voice. When had she started showing this much spine? "What?"

"You heard me." She was inwardly shaking like a leaf but loving the shocked look on the blonde's face. "It's none of your business. I wasn't doing anything illegal. I was out, I'm back, I'm safe. No worries." she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes before her face hardened again. "End of discussion." She gave a small nod towards the door. "The door's over there."

The Slayer stared in shock at Dawn, not believing this was happening. She was used to attitude from Dawn, tantrums but this was new. She was about to lay into her but stopped. If she got too excited, she might let it slip and Dawn's world would come crashing down. Besides, Dawn had a point. She was safe, she had no signs of drug usage, no stench of alcohol or tobacco. She could let this go. For now at least.

"Fine."

And with that, Buffy left, closing the door behind her.

When she was gone Dawn let out the breath she had been holding. Man, did that feel good! She ran back to her bed, yanking the book from the mattress. Pajamas could wait, this must be recorded!

S.S.S

"Is it true? The mighty Glorificous is here?"

"It is. And she needs the Key, or so my spells have told me."

"We must find the Key, and then she'll reward us for our efforts."

"But the Slayer is protecting it. You really want to have the Slayer coming after you?" The brunette woman leaned back on the worn sofa. "I don't want to live in that world, Rina."

The blonde woman next to her gave the brunette a glare. "I wasn't saying we go to the Slayer. What kind of idiot do you take me for?! We don't even know what it is..." she stopped and her eyes went from sea green to black onyx. "Something's following us. I can feel it."

Shelly sighed in annoyance. "Probably one of your stalker boyfriends. I told you to stop dating convicts and-" she was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone. She flipped it open and sighed. "Damn."

Rina's dark brows went up. "What?"

"It's that loon we used to work with. Why is he calling me?" Shelly's eyes widened in horror. "You don't think he wants me, do you?"

Rina shook her head. "Nah. He's checking up on everyone he used to work with. It's not just you." She smirked. "But, it would be an interesting thing... and highly amusing. Could you imagine it if you guys married?"

Shelly's face contorted in disgust. "Ew! I'd sooner become a good guy before I'd let that happen!" She hit 'Ignore' on her cell phone, tossing it into her bag. She fixed her sister with an annoyed coal black glare. "Stop laughing, Rinacora! That's just gross!"

Rina was now holding her stomach. "But, it's so funny! Can you imagine? Shelikendra of Nythislan turning into Mrs. Reginald Simmons?!"

Okay, so yes. Those are my OCs. Shelly aka Shelikendra and Rinacora aka Rina. They are not Mary Sues, they will NOT end up with any canon characters.


	7. California Love

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They belong to their perspective owners, so no suing me. I'm broke... I'm from Detroit, so that's a given. . A/N: First of all, I would like to apologize for the long wait. Things have been very hectic over here and though I wanted to update, I was unable to make it to a computer (I rely onschool computers, since I'm lame and I don't have one of my own.Also, I've been having a major case of writer's block butit's starting to go away sonow the fun can begin again.

S.S.S.S

"Dear lord and she has no idea?"

The petite blonde glanced at Giles from the couch. She had called the ex-Watcher over as soon as she was certain Dawn had gone to bed. She filled him in on the words of the dying monk, the strange woman with the strength of a Mack truck and the fact that her sister was not her sister, literally at least.

"No, she just thinks she's my kid sister." Buffy sighed and leaned her head back against the couch. "Giles, they sent her to me. I have to take care of her… I want to."

"Are you going to tell her?" Giles asked and Buffy shook her head.

"She'll freak. We don't need that. She's got enough going on right now. All I know is that I'm going to protect her from that hell bitch and Dawn, as well as everyone else, can't know about… y'know." She couldn't bring herself to say "that she's not human."

S.S.S.S.S.S

"You did what?!"

"A human spotted you?"

"Do you know nothing of stealth, Ironhide?"

"How'd she handle it?"

"Did she freak?"

"Arf!"

"Mojo, no peeing on the robot!"

These were the numerous reactions he expected from the Autobots as well as the two humans after he explained what happened in California. He had called everyone here at around three o'clock in the afternoon to explain the situation. He understood their worry; there was always a risk of humans telling the wrong people about their presence on Earth. But, he knew the girl would not say anything, she seemed extremely trustworthy, much like Sam and Mikaela. Besides, that was not the issue at the moment. What was the issue was that the girl in question had come in contact with some odd energy and now he felt drawn to her. And he told them all so, as well as the day he had encountered the energy, the way it filled him, overwhelmed him… overloaded him.

That little admission yielded a few reactions as well, namely confusion and amusement.

"You had a what?"

"An overload, you say?" Scans were run on his body. "I can't find any trace of energy on you. Everything is in perfect order."

"An overload? What's that?"

"What's an… oh, never mind, I think I got it."

"Well, what is it?!"

"Think of when Mojo gets in your Dad's massage chair, Sam."

"…Oh…" A barely concealed chuckle before the teenage boy broke into snickers, followed by Mikaela and Bumblebee.

"You three, stop laughing."

"…Sorry, Optimus."

"We'll be good."

Silence, followed by more barely concealed snickers.

An annoyed grunt came from the weapon's specialist as he eyed the two humans and the younger bot. It seemed that youngsters, no matter what species were all immature and highly irritating! Ignoring the three morons he turned his attention back to Optimus, awaiting his plan of action.

After cycling an exasperated sigh, the leader turned his attention back to his weapon's specialist. "We'll have to find this girl and speak with her about this, hopefully she will remember coming into contact with this energy collection."

"What's her name?" Mikaela asked, in the midst of all this confusion, Ironhide neglected to mention her name.

"Dawn Summers." Ironhide said and tapped his fingers to the side of his head, producing a hologram of a brunette girl with wide blue eyes.

"Oh, she looks a little young..." Mikaela said. "Probably about fourteen or fifteen."

Optimus went totally still and his optics dimmed as he ran an internet search. "Dawn Summers, age fifteen. Born to Henry and Joyce Summers. Her parents are divorced and she now resides with her mother and older sister Buffy Anne Summers on 1630 Revello Drive. She is currently a freshman at Fondren High School which is across town from Sunnydale."

"Man, it's creepy how much info there is on you." Sam muttered to Mikaela who nodded her agreement. The boy then turned to the Autobot leader. "Maybe we should come too."Sam suggested. "She might talk to us more than you guys. Just because we took it well, I don't think she could handle a bunch of giant robots giving her the Third Degree."

Mikaela agreed but figured this Dawn girl wouldn't freak out too bad. If she could handle Ironhide, the rest of them would be cake. "Yeah, I just have to grab some clothes and stuff." The girl said.

The leader tilted his head at them in a questioning gesture. "Will your parents not wonder of your whereabouts?"

"Nah," came from thirty feet down as Mikaela shook her head. "Mom's used to me going away every now and then. I just need to leave her a message and that's it."

"Yeah, and my parents are on their anniversary trip to Vegas." Sam explained. "They'll be gone for a while; I just have to remember to leave a message for when they get back."

"Very well." Optimus nodded before turning to Bumblebee. "Take them back to their residences and meet back here in one hour."

With a quick nod, Bee transformed and took the two back to their homes and they both packed at least two days worth of clothes. They were back at the meeting place within the hour, both ready to go.

The other bots were already in vehicle mode and it was then that Ironhide noticed something terribly wrong.

"Why are you bringing that thing?" He growled over the com link.

Sam glanced out the window and gave the Topkick a shrug paired with a half smile. "Mom and Dad are gone, remember. Someone's gotta watch Mojo."

"Arf!" The rodent bark in agreement and Ironhide sighed.

It was going to be the weekend from the Pit.

S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S

_Dear Diary,_

_Dear God, what is Buffy's deal?! She's in total overprotective mode today. I mean, my God! Every time I was away for a few seconds she called and made sure I was around. If she's feeling bad for the way she's been treating me and afraid I'll run away or something, she doesn't have to worry. Running away would be totally crappy, and mad cowardish. Like my giant shiny friend said, running away would be worse than taking it, and if I'm not taking her crap then I'm sure as Hell not running away. _

_Man, I really miss him. It was cool having someone around me who wasn't Buffy-bound. Too bad he's gone. Who knows, he might come back. Usually, anything that winds up in Sunnydale comes back sooner or later. _

Closing her journal, Dawn sighed and rested back against her bed only to get back up and go to the den. She sat down and watched television for a little bit, but quickly grew disinterested. She felt restless. Ever since that encounter with Ironhide, she felt like he was the thing that's been calling to her. But that was crazy, what could she and a twenty foot tall robot ever want or need with each other?

Getting to her feet, she quickly made her way down the stairs. She could hear Buffy with Riley and rolled her eyes. Perfect excuse to leave. She'd find something to do and Buffy and her boyfriend could have really loud sex since her Mom was at work.

She stopped as a stab of worry shot through her chest and gut. Something has been off with her Mom. Her headaches were getting worse, and she's been going to the doctor a lot more often. She hoped and prayed it was nothing serious. She and Buffy had tried to get her to stay home and rest but she said she had to go to work. Apparently her mom was having some big thing at the gallery and then a dinner afterwards. She didn't want her mom to put herself through a lot, but she had insisted on going.

Shaking her head to clear the worry, she continued her decent down the stairs. As expected Buffy was with Riley, all snuggled up on the couch. Dawn's eyes widened in horror as a horrendous thought went through her head. Dear God, she hoped they didn't screw on the couch! She sat on that thing every day!

"I'm out." Dawn said as she fought down the grossed-out feeling.

Instead of Buffy waving her off, the blonde shot up from the couch. "Whoa!" She ran over and stepped between Dawn and the door. "Where do you think you're going?"

Blinking at her sister's strange behavior, Dawn answered. "Lisa's. I'm suffocating over here." She started to step around Buffy, but was unsuccessful. The Slayer had stepped in front of her really quickly and gently took her by the shoulders.

"Erm, no. It's not safe for you to go over there. Besides, it's family day." Buffy said hurriedly.

Making that sound all teenage girls are known for when something doesn't appeal to them, Dawn gave her sister an incredulous look. "Family day? Mom's at work and you and Riley are all cuddled up. That's a Hallmark moment if I ever heard of one." Her brow scrunched even deeper in a frown. "And, how is it not safe? It's just down the street and it's only five o'clock?"

Buffy remained adamant. "It's just not. Now, I let it slide yesterday, but not today." She stopped and gave Dawn a suspicious look. "Now, I'm not taking any smart-mouthed remarks this time. Where were you last night?"

"Having mad cow sex with a group of bikers." Dawn scoffed. "I told you, I was out, I'm fine and I came back." She then gave Buffy and angry glare. "You think you can run everything and everyone just because you're older and the Slayer? Well, guess what? I don't care! You may have all that Chosen One freak monkey strength and can snap me like a twig but it doesn't make you better than me, or anyone! So…God, back off! Back off and shut up!"

And with that, Dawn turned and headed back up the stairs, the slamming of the door echoing through the house.

Downstairs, a low whistle broke through the silence. "Wow." Riley said and cleared his throat. "Buffy, is this new threat that bad that Dawn can't even go to her friends' house?" Buffy just stood there in shock. "Buff, you okay?"

"What's gotten into her?" Buffy asked. "She's never been so…so…."

"Ballsy?" Riley offered and Buffy gave him an annoyed glare.

"You almost sound like you approve of her behavior."

"No, I didn't say that, but it takes guts for a kid to stand up to the Slayer." Riley said thoughtfully.

"No, she knows I'll never hurt her. So, now she thinks she can say or do anything." Buffy sighed and sat back down. "And with this hell-bitch out there, she can't be running off whenever she likes."

Riley sat up. "Well, if it's something really bad I can get the government boys in on it and-"

"No!" Buffy said too quickly and then caught herself. "I mean, the few people who know about this the better."

Riley sighed simply looked at his girlfriend. "Every time I think I'm getting close to you…" He shook his head and stood. "I have to go. You decided you want my help. Let me know."

Blinking, the blonde watched, troubled, as Riley hurried out of the house. She then shook her head. She didn't have time for this. She had to deal with Dawn, but at the moment she felt extremely tired and still sore. She was still smarting from that fight with that woman. Usually, she healed pretty quickly, but this chick was so strong that the bruises and sores were taking a while.

Getting up, she made her way upstairs to the bathroom, stopping to peak into Dawn's room. The brunette was curled up on her bed and scribbling furiously in her journal. Probably calling her all sorts of Slayer-bitches and Chosen Bimbo on paper, words she would never voice.

Easing away from the door, she made her way to the bathroom. A nice soak in the tub with bath salts would do her good.

S.S.S.S.S

"What do you see?"

Shelly opened her eyes and the blackened corneas returned back to the human appearance of sea green. "I see that Glorificous has encountered the Slayer. I don't think she knows who she was against. This may be the time to move, to tell the divine one of her opponent and in her gratitude she'll-" she stopped as her cell phone cut her off yet again. She growled and pressed the speaker button. "What?!" She screamed into the phone.

"Shelly. How are you and your sister hanging up? Are you two okay?" The person on the other end was unscathed by the brunette's harsh tone.

Shelly rolled her eyes. "We're good, Simmons.'

"Ah-ah, its Reggie, now, remember." He said and she made gagging motions. "You two girls find work after the… liquidation?"

Simmons always used vague speak when on the phone, he was never sure who might be listening. He was as paranoid as a Slod demon.

"Oh, we have something lined up. If all goes well, my sister and I will be working for a real big timer." She gave a smile to Rina who returned it. "We have to go." And with that she hung up. "God, what a pain."

Rina snickered. "I know...remember how he used to watch us when we worked for Sector Seven? I still say he wanted you."

"EW!"

S.S.S.S

After hanging up the phone, Simmons turned back to his computer. He always felt the need to check on Rinacora and Shelikendra. Not because he found them attractive or had a crush on them. Hardly, there was just something about those girls that was just eerie. They seemed like they had some hidden agenda, but continuous background checks on the girls stated they were clean. A little too clean in fact. No criminal history, no traffic tickets, not even a high school detention. But even with their perfect record, there was something about them. They were both oddly creepy. He had heard them talking about magic and spells and their apparent goddess named Glorificous once in the mess hall, but it didn't bug him. He knew a few members of Sector Seven were pagans, and it didn't bug him. To each his own…or her own, as the case may be. There was just something off about them. They just seemed... evil.

He knew he had no reason to believe they were. They were nice enough, friendly, spoke to everyone... except to Mike, the young guy who was madly in love with Rina but she found him repulsive... as did most of the female half of Sector Seven back then. He had no idea what it was about them, but he just _knew_ that they were pure evil... or worked for it which was bad enough.

After running another check, he found that the two girls had left their home state of Arizona and were now renting an apartment in Sunnydale California. He supposed it fit. Sunnydale was full of weirdoes and weird shit, or so the superstitious girl who operated the dam claimed. He gave a slight chuckle at the thought of that girl. Demons? Hellmouth? And they thought he was strange. Giant alien robots Hell bent on universal domination he could buy, but demons? No, thank you.

.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.

_Stupid Buffy..._

Lying on her bed, Dawn stared up at the ceiling in rage. If looks could kill, her ceiling would be crumbling right now. She had been glaring at the ceiling for a good two hours now, envisioning Buffy's face. What was her sister's deal? Why couldn't she go anywhere? Yeah, things were crappy on the Hellmouth but why did she have to suffer?!

However, telling Buffy off was extremely satisfying. It was better than a whole tub of Neapolitan ice cream. The sour look gave way to a satisfied smirk.

_I really need to find Ironhide and when I do; I'll find some kind of way to hug him. _

Dawn's eyes widened and she darted upwards. Her thoughts were interrupted by Nature's Call and apparently it couldn't wait. She ran out of her room and into the bathroom and stifled a gasp when she saw Buffy naked in the tub.

"Gross!" She whispered loudly.

Apparently her sister had fallen asleep in the tub and didn't lock the door. She had a habit of doing that. Catching the scent of lavender in the air, Dawn realized why her sister was cat napping in the tub. She used the lavender salts again. They were notorious for putting a girl to sleep, namely Buffy. Dawn never used them. More than likely, Buffy was going to be out for a while, hours even.

A rebellious smirk lit up the girls face.

Easing out of the bathroom and gently shutting the door, Dawn ran down the stairs to the downstairs bathroom. After doing her business, she rushed into the living room and grabbed the phone, quickly dialing.

"Hello?"

"Lise!" Dawn said excitedly. "Are you busy tonight?"

"No, why?"

"Want to hang out? We could go to the mall for a little while, at least until it closes."

At Dawn's suggestion, the other girl scoffed. "Me go to the mall with only seven dollars?"

The brunette's excitement deflated then. She was short on cash too. She had only seventeen bucks to her name. "Good point." She pondered for a moment on what they could do for fun when Lisa spoke again.

"Although..." the other teen said, voice sound mischievous, "...If you have money for cab fare afterwards, I know where we could go."

Dawn's brows shot up in surprise. "Cab fair? How much and where are we going that we'll need cab fare back?"

"Just five bucks back because I'm not walking home in the dark. Too many crazies out there." Lisa said. "And as for where we're going, it's a surprise."

Dawn was psyched. She was but then her mood deflated once again. "I can't. Mom's going to be home from work soon."

"Didn't you tell me she had some big thing at the gallery and then a dinner afterwards with one of the investors?"

Her mood inflated again. "That's right! Okay, I'll be over in a few minutes."

"All right! See when you get over here. Bye!"

"Bye!" Dawn hung up the phone and quickly grabbed her jacket. She nearly had a heart attack when she didn't see her wallet on the table but calmed down when she found that it was in her pocket along with her keys. She tossed a quick glance toward the stairs to make sure Buffy wasn't going to come down and suck the fun out of her life.

A loud snore came from upstairs.

Satisfied, Dawn left the house and after locking the door, sprinted down the street to Lisa's.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"So this is Sunnydale, huh?"

Gazing out of Bumblebee's window, Sam took in the scenery as they exited the freeway. The drive from Nevada to California had taken all of four hours and it was now eight o'clock. He spotted Optimus in front of him if he were to glance in the rearview mirror he would see Ratchet and Ironhide behind him. He glanced at Mikaela who was looking out the passenger window with interest.

"So, this Dawn girl? Do you think she'll freak out?"

Mikaela turned her eyes away from the window for a moment to glance at Sam. "I don't think so. Ironhide said she took it really well." The sides of her mouth quirked upwards and she let out a small snicker. "Overload… wow."

Sam joined her in the snickering and Bee gave an amused rev of his engine. It had been an amusing morning when Ironhide had returned.

"Shut up!" Ironhide's voice growled through Bee's internal com link which prompted the two teens and the young mech to laugh, or rev, even more.

"So, where do we find her?" Mikaela asked, deciding to cut Ironhide a break.

"We shall try her residence first." Optimus' voice came through the opened com link. "If she is not there we shall try another way."

"That works..." Sam mused and then turned to Mikaela. "So...what are we going to say once we meet her?"

The girl was silent for a moment as she pondered this. That was a hard one. "No idea," She said after coming up short on ideas. "We'll have to ease into it. We can't just be like 'Hi, I'm Mikaela. This is Sam. You know Ironhide. Say, did you run into any swirly green energy that gave him the best orgasm of all time?' No, can't do that one."

"It'd be funny though if we did." Sam said after a short silence and then he and Mikaela instantly broke into laughter.

"I said shut up!" Ironhide boomed over the com link, causing the two humans to laugh even harder. "This is no laughing matter."

The huge Peterbilt in front of them gave a rev of his engine. But, instead of receiving a scolding over the com link, they heard Ironhide's disbelieving voice.

"Optimus! Are you laughing?!"

"Only a little." Came the response from the leader and the two teens snickered even more and Bee gave amused revs of his engine.

The weapon's specialist gave an irritated growl but said nothing as they made their way to Revello drive. At least Ratchet wasn't laughing at him.

An amused rev from the yellow H2 Hummer told him otherwise.

"Ratchet!"

S.S.S.S.S

_"I love you, I love, I love you."_

_Buffy blinked and moved from the couch as she heard Dawn's voice in the kitchen. Who did she love now? Orlando Bloom? Johnny Depp? _

_"Dawn__" Buffy asked and stepped into the kitchen_

_Her sister was seated on one of the stools, looking at some sort of magazine with a love-struck look on her face. _

_"Okay, who is it now?" Buffy asked amused and peeked over the girl's shoulder._

_Her brow scrunched in confusion. Her younger sister was looking at an auto magazine and was proclaiming her love to a GMC Topkick._

"The Hell...?"

Buffy slowly woke up to find herself in chilly bathwater. She rolled her eyes. She fell asleep in the bath again. Sighing, she stood and reached for her towel. As she wrapped it around her body her mind drifted to the dream. What the Hell was that about? It clearly wasn't a premonition. Dawn loving a Topkick? Hmm, maybe she was going to get one when she got her license next year. She shuddered in horror at the thought. Dawn driving? The girl could break things by looking at them.

Speaking of Dawn...

Quickly drying of and throwing on her robe, she left the bathroom and went to her sister's room. "Dawn. You in there?" She called but received no answer.

_She's either sleeping or not talking to me...most likely the latter._

"Dawnie?" She opened the door and began to panic when she found the room empty.

_Calm down. She's probably downstairs watching cartoons._

"Dawn!" She called as she ran downstairs. She ran though the living room, dining room and kitchen to no avail. She checked the basement then ran back upstairs to check her mother's room as well as her own.

"Oh, God! She's not here!" She cried. "I've gotta find her!"

Running to her room, she quickly tossed off her robe and pulled on a pair of green jeans and T-shirt foregoing underwear of any kind. No was not the time for undies.

"God damn it, Dawn." She muttered as she glanced out the window. "It's getting dark outside."

Pulling her gym shoes on her feet, foregoing socks, she grabbed her keys and ran out of the house, stopping short when she saw Spike standing y the tree in her front yard.

"Spike! What the fuck?!" She growled, and then punched him in the face for stalking her...again.

"Nice to you too, Slayer..." the vampire grumbled as he held his nose.

Why the Hell was this weirdo always around? What was his deal? She shook her head. She's kill him later, right now she had to find Dawn. She stopped and then turned to Spike.

"Where's Dawn?" If the Bleached Wonder had anything to do with her sister going missing. She stopped herself again. No, he couldn't physically hurt Dawn, not with the chip. And besides, with his vampire senses, he could hopefully find her.

"How the Hell should I know, you stupid bint? I just..." He stopped and then straightened himself up. "I was just out for a walk." He finished with his most innocent bystander look a.k.a his lying face.

The petite blonde did not believe that for a second. More than likely he had just got here to stalk her and did not see Dawn run off or, her stomach dropped, get taken.

"Well then, you're going to help me find her." She stated.

"Since when did I become a soddin' bloodhound for the little brat?"

The words were on his lips until he saw that behind the usual self-righteous pushiness there was real fear. Fear that something horrible had happened to the little bit.

So, after giving the Slayer a slight nod he breathed in the air, taking in Dawn's scent. "Well, from the smell of things, the Little Bit skipped off down the street..."

Buffy sighed in relief. "Lisa's..."

"...but she's not there anymore... She and her friend took off this way..." He began walking down the street, Buffy following intently.

The short blonde paid no attention to the strange line of cars that turned the corner, however Spike stopped gave them a quick glance before Buffy tugged his arm.

"Come on!"

Okay. This chapter was getting long so I cut it. But, no worries. Chapter 8 should be up within the next couple of hours as well. It's 2:11pm right now and I don't have to leave until 4:50. I've got plenty of time and the writer's block has ended.

By the way, Lisa is a Buffy canon character. She appeared in the episode 5x16 "The Body" Only Rina and Shelly are OCs and again, they're not Sues. They just worship Glory. I apologize that Glory was not in this chapter.

If you have any questions or are confused about anything at all, feel free to ask in a review or private message. I'll be sure to get back to you... as long as it doesn't spoil the plot. Spoilers will be answered with a smiley and a "wait and see.


	8. The Bronze

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They belong to their perspective owners, so no suing me. I'm broke... I'm from Detroit, so that's a given. I also don't own the band XEO3... If I did, Persia White would be my love slave. God, that woman makes me question my sexuality. No joke, she really does.

A/N: Okay, so yes I'm finally updated. This was originally one chapter but it got too long so I decided to cut it. Erm… yea… enjoy.

S.S.S.S.S

"She isn't here."

Sam and Mikaela looked at each other in confusion. They were now parked in front of 1630 Revello drive and were about to get out of Bee and ring the doorbell when Ironhide said that she wasn't there.

"How do you know?" Sam asked. "You scanned the house or something."

"No... I just know. That feeling I told you about. I don't feel it." Ironhide explained as best he could.

"Well, maybe it wore off." Mikaela offered.

Bumblebee quickly ran a scan and was surprised that Ironhide was right... which was pretty creepy.

"No, he's right." Bee said through the link. "I've run a scan and there is no human in the house."

"Creepy..." Sam said, voicing Bee's opinion.

"So, now what?" Mikaela asked. "It's night and a Saturday, so she's not at school. She might be at a friend's?"

"No..." Ironhide said. "I can feel that pull again... Follow me."

And with that he drove off, the others following him.

"Honk if this is getting really weird and creepy." Sam muttered.

A chorus of car horns resounded through the air as they all followed Ironhide.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"This is so cool!"

"I know, right?"

Dawn was ecstatic. She was so glad she went to Lisa's. As soon as she got over there, the girl gave her a quick once over then yanked her to her room, proclaiming that Dawn could not go dressed like that. Dawn was confused at first. Where were they going that Dawn couldn't wear a T-shirt and jeans?

Now, she understood as she stood in Lisa's black pants, white halter and sandals on the dance floor of The Bronze, the local coffee shop/night club. They both had to wear wristbands due to their age but didn't care. Drinking was for losers.

"Hey, even though Buffy thinks she's all cool. You totally kick her ass at dancing." Lisa smiled as Dawn moved her body to the song "Riptide" which was being played by the band on stage, XEO3.

Dawn smiled in thanks at her friend with no modesty. She knew it was true. Despite being a klutz most of the time, she was a master when it came to dancing. She moved in time to the fast rhythm of the song.

_Can't you see that __I have a problem with reality __Can't you hear me __I keep calling but nobody listens __Can't you feel me __I keep clawing from the inside __Can't you hear me __I keep calling but nobody hears me_.

She suddenly stopped dancing. She could feel it, that pull. And it was getting close. She suddenly broke into a grin. Ironhide was back! She just knew it! She began to dance again. She would see him later; right now she wanted to continue having fun dancing.

"Nothing can go wrong tonight!" Lisa proclaimed and Dawn stared at her friend in horror.

"Lise, no!" Dawn cried.

"What?" The other girl asked, confused.

"Whenever someone says nothing can go wrong, something always goes wrong. That's like... a divine law!"

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Girl, calm down... you're overreact-"

"Lisa!"

Lisa' brown eyes widened and she slowly turned around. "Andy?"

Dawn sighed and ducked her head. Great, Lisa's brother. The Captain Snitch of all snitches.

"Wait until I tell Mom!" The older boy continued. "You know you're not allowed out for a week because you bitchslapped Kristy."

Lisa leaned forward and whispered in Dawn's ear. "Go ahead; I'll sacrifice myself for you. You've been having a shitty week. Go have fun."

Dawn smiled but did not turn around lest Andy saw her. Lisa, what a martyr. She quickly moved away when Andy grabbed Lisa's hand. "I'm taking you home right now! You're going to be in so much trouble..."

Sighing, Dawn was about to move to a table when the band began playing another song. The melody was slowly and sexy and the lead singer's voice was so captivating. Dawn watched the beautiful raven-haired, tattooed woman on stage for a moment before dancing to her beautiful voice.

_This space between you and me _

_Is more distant than it seems _

_I'm frozen in reality _

_The space between world and dream_

She did not notice that at the very moment that as Lisa was dragged out by her brother, another young woman entered.

--

Mikaela sighed as she looked around the nightclub, moving aside as a young man dragged out a younger girl, proclaiming that she would be in huge trouble once she got home. She looked around for a certain brunette. Ironhide said that the girl was here. She glanced back to the door. Sam was still inside Bee, waiting with the rest of the Autobots in the parking lot. Well, Ironhide and Bee were in the lot. Optimus and Ratchet were a little ways down the street. A Peterbilt and a search and rescue vehicle would look a little weird in a nightclub parking lot, or so Sam had to tell them. Sam also said she should be the one to talk to Dawn.

"What? Aren't you coming?" Mikaela had asked.

"Well, see, I would if we were just going to her house or something. But, this is a club and she might just think I'm trying to hit on her and she'd be more comfortable talking to a girl and-"

"You have no money to get into the building, do you?" Ratchet had cut in.

"Not a cent." Sam confirmed and Mikaela sighed.

"Good grief, Sam. I didn't bring that much money with me." She had pointed out. "Just enough for food for two days. And-" she stopped as Bee's radio turned on, playing a clip from _Bills, Bills, Bills _by Destiny's Child.

_You're slowly making me pay for t__hings_

_your money should be handling_

_You trifling good for nothing type of brother_

"Bee, shut up!" Sam growled and the radio clicked off with an amused engine rev from the Camero.

"Mikaela..." Optimus spoke through the com link. "...Sam does have a point. You should be the one to speak with her."

And that was what lead to her now wandering around a night club, looking for this mystery girl. Well, at least she blended in. She was clad in white jeans and a blue tube top due to the heat. Glancing around, Mikaela sighed. The former car thief couldn't deny that this was all very creepy. Weird sensations and stalker like behavior? Very high on the creep-o-meter if you ask her.

_God, this place is huge. How am I even going to find her?_

Making her way up the balcony, she looked around, making sure she got a good look at each female with brown hair, regardless of style. She may have cut it that day, who knew?

Finding no one on the balcony, she peered over it. She hoped she would get lucky or it would be a long night. She was about to move when she noticed a crowd on the dance floor. They were all gathered around a girl who had some really hypnotic moves; even she had to admit that. The girl twisted and writhed to the rising and falling beats of the song, hips slowly gyrating in time with the singer's captivating voice.

_The space between you and me _

_Is taking everything it sees _

_Frozen inside of me _

_This place that you will never see_

Just then the girl turned her head upwards and Mikaela gasped. It was her! Thank God! And this made it extremely easy for her to talk to the girl. Quickly rushing down the balcony steps, she moved onto the dance floor. Maneuvering through the crowd, she made it to the dance floor and began to dance. One of the benefits of being with Trent? She went to clubs a lot and was now a master at striking up conversations on the dance floor. Dancing her way to through the now dissipating crowd and tapped the girl on the shoulder. She whirled around and opened her eyes; she had been dancing with them closed.

"Hey!" Mikaela smiled. "Awesome moves."

The girl's expression went from curious to pleased. "Thanks." She called over the music with no modesty in her voice

"You had a crowd of people watching you." Mikaela told the younger girl and this time the shorter girl looked a tad embarrassed.

"Oh, wow…" She gave a nervous giggle. "I didn't think anyone was watching…" She looked up at Mikaela and shrugged. "I usually don't dance in public. This…" she stopped and made a thoughtful face. "…is actually my first time out to a place like this."

"Well, you're awesome." Yes, flattery was the best way to gain the girl's trust. She held out her hand. "I'm Mikaela."

She took the offered hand and shook it. "Dawn."

Mikaela opened her mouth to speak but stopped when the song ended and the lead singer spoke into the mic.

"Thank you, Sunnydale and goodnight!"

A loud cheer came from the crowd along with a round of applause as XEO3 left the stage. Instead of a new band coming onto the stage, Gwen Stefani's "Wind it Up" began streaming through the speakers. They must not have been able to book another band. Dawn began to dance again, her moves taking on a slightly robotic nature at the first verse of the song

_This is the key that makes us wind up_

_When the beat comes on the girls all line up_

_And the boys all look but, no, they can't touch_

_But the girls want to know why boys like us so much_

When the tune picked up so did Dawn's moves and Mikaela sighed in frustration. How was she supposed to go about this?

"Hey, you want to grab a table?" Mikaela asked, figuring it was best to get this out of the way.

The younger girl blinked at her but then shrugged. "Sure, why not."

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Oh! So, you think Glorificous will favor you over me?!"

"Of course she well. On a scale of me to you, I'm awesome!"

Rina scowled at her sister's haughty stare. They were discussing a plan of action when Shelly had the gall to say that she would certainly win Glorificous' favor. This stupid bitch thought that the Divine One would favor her? When monkeys flew out of her ass!

"You really think so?" Rina said with sarcasm thick in her voice.

"Bet your life on it." Shelly smirked.

Rina scowled and then slowly smirked. If that's what she wanted…

"All right."

Shelly blinked in confusion. "What?"

Rina flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and let her corneas blacken, showing her demonic essence. "All right. We will see who gets the goddess' favor. Loser's life is forfeit to the winner."

Shelly gaped at Rina in shock. "You're serious?"

"Oh yes." Rina laughed at her sister's shocked face. "Oh come on, it's not like we've actually cared about each other. We just stuck with each other because we could not stand anyone else." She watched Shelly give a slight shrug of agreement. They never did care for each other at all.

"All righty." Shelly sighed. "Just be prepared to die, soon. Okie dokie?" She smiled at the blonde pleasantly.

"You keep telling yourself that, dearie."

And with that, Rina left the apartment and got into her car, more determined than ever. She would find the Key. But she would big help to do it.

Shelly scoffed as she watched her sister leave their apartment. She was really wagering her life in a bet with her sister. She shook her head in shocked amusement. Wow. But, whatever. She could easily get this done. First she had to pay a visit to a relative.

Grabbing her keys, Shelly left the apartment and headed to her car, noticing Rina's blue Volkswagen speed off. Glaring in her sister's direction, Shelly got into her green BMW and sped off into the night.

S.S.S.S

"So, erm… are you from Sunnydale?"

The two girls were in a slightly closed off section of The Bronze's upper level. Dawn was still a bit confused. Why would this beautiful girl even want to talk to her? The bombshell looked like she belonged to Kristy's clique. But that couldn't be the case. The boys at school would be falling over their asses if a girl like her came to the school.

"No, I'm actually from Tranquility, Nevada. I'm just here for the weekend." Mikaela explained. She hesitated for a moment. "However, I think we have a friend in common."

Mikaela studied Dawn in the dim light. It seemed that she left all of her confidence on the dance floor. Now she was a flustered mess. She didn't understand why. She was a very pretty girl. She was that type of pretty that could either be cutely innocent or, with the right hairdo and just a touch of makeup, a total seductress. She obviously was naïve to how pretty she really was.

Dawn tilted her head to the side. "Really? I don't think so. I only have one friend…" Her mood soured as another possibility drifted through her head. "You know my sister?"

_Okay. She must be having sister issues_. Mikaela shook her head. "Nope. You're the only person from here I've talked to."

The sour look was lost from Dawn's face. "Oh… ok. Well, then do you know any of her frie-" she stopped herself. "Oh, yeah… I'm the only person you know from here…"

Again, that Sunnydale paranoia came back and she tensed up. This girl might know Spike or Angel. And if that was the case then she could be a vampire!

_Think, Dawn. Think! _Her eyes landed on a small cup with sugar, substitute sugar, cream, small straws.

_Aha! Dawn, you're brilliant!_

"Well… I don't know who you could be talking about…" she said slowly, taking two coffee straws from the little cup on the table, pretending to idly twist them out of boredom until they made the shape of the Holy cross. "Maybe if you described him, it'd come to me." She held the make-shift cross up, angling at Mikaela's face.

Arching one ebony brow, she looked at the straw-cross then at Dawn. "What is that?" She asked, plucking it out of Dawn's hand and examining it.

Dawn held in a sigh of relief. _Okay... she didn't flinch or burn… meaning I just made an ass out of myself._

"Erm…don't worry about it." She said, laughing nervously. "So, this friend… we both have?"

"Yeah…" Mikaela said, moving the cross away. This girl was weird. _Okay, here it goes. _"His name's Ironhide."

At that name, Dawn sat up straight, back going ridged. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who are you? What do you want with Ironhide? How do you even know about him?"

"Calm down." Mikaela said quietly, holding up her hands in defense. "It's okay. Ironhide's my friend and-"

"How do I know that?" Dawn snapped. "How do I know you're not some government freak?"

Mikaela sighed in frustration. This was not going well. "Look, I'm telling the truth. He really is my friend. And…we drove all the way up here to find you."

The younger girl's eyes widened in disbelief. How did they even know she was in here? "You were following me?" She asked outraged. "Were you camped out in front of my house too?" When the older girl looked away with a look that said "Yeah, sort of" Dawn had heard enough. "You freak!" She stood up from the table. "I'm outta here! And if you EVER come near me again my sister and my friends will kill you." She turned away but then whirled back around. "And that's not little kid threats…," she let cold fury leak into her eyes to show she was not fucking around. "They _will_ kill you."

Mikaela got up from the table and quickly grabbed Dawn's arm before she could get away. "Wait! Just listen to me!"

Dawn whirled around, fear and rage in her eyes. "Let go of me!" She tried to yank her hand from Mikaela's grip but it proved unsuccessful.

Okay, she tried being civil. That didn't work. On to plan B.

Pushing the girl roughly against the corner wall, Mikaela held her by the shoulder with one hand and roughly jerked her head to the side with the other. "Listen to me!" She growled, moving her hand to Dawn's free shoulder to hold her still and leaned forward to explain everything.

--

At the lower level of the club, Spike and Buffy had just entered. The British vampire had followed Dawn's trail to the Bronze. When they entered Buffy began to rant.

"She snuck out and came here?! I'm going to kill her!"

"Yeah, sure. Good luck with that." Spike said, not wanting to get in the middle of Summers women drama, though he loved them all, he really did. He had realized he loved Buffy a while ago and while it horrified him it did not stop him from pursuing the Slayer, though she clearly wanted nothing to do with him that didn't involve punching him in the face or pumping him for info.

"Wait." Buffy said.

"Oh God, what, Slayer?" He growled in exasperation. "I played the Lassie role and led ya to the little chit, what more do you want?"

"Where exactly is she?" Buffy asked, ignoring his frustration.

Sighing, Spike breathed in again. "Up there…" He grabbed her hand. "Come on, the sooner we get up there, the sooner I can leave."

Yanking her hand out of the vampire's grip, Buffy quickly made her way up the stairs. Searching for Dawn, intent on giving the girl a piece of her mind. Man, if she didn't have super strength she'd smack the brat silly. She had her worried sick! Sneaking off last night and now tonight! And It was just a good thing their mother was going to be out that night because she would blow a gasket if she found out how late Dawn had been out during these past two nights. And with that freak bitch out looking for Dawn and likely to come after them soon, she should've have kept her ass in the house and-

"Huh…well, that's interesting…"

Spike's voice brought Buffy out of her mental rant. She looked at the vampire who was looking straight ahead, brows raised and slight smirk on his face.

"What? What are we looking at?" She followed his gaze and gasped.

There was Dawn with a taller girl with long black curly hair. The girl had Dawn pressed against the wall, leaned into her. Her face was slightly tilted and since they were at a side angle Buffy could not see what the other girl was doing since her curly hair was in the way. However, being the Slayer she assumed the worst.

_A vamp attacked my sister…_

Buffy was about to spring forward and dust the bitch when Spike yanked her back. "Cool it, Slayer…" Spike said amused as the blonde whirled to him in outrage.

"What are you doing?! A vamp has my sister!" She growled at the irritating vampire who only laughed at her.

"First of all, Slayer…" he started. "If the girl was a vamp, I'd sense it. Y'know us fanged types. We can sense each other. Secondly, if she attacked the Little Bit, I would've smelled the blood from downstairs."

Hearing this, Buffy calmed down and then cringed in shame. She almost killed an innocent girl. Probably someone from Dawn's school. "Okay… so she's not a vamp. What's the big deal then?"

"Take a _good_ look, Slayer." His voice held a hidden meaning.

Buffy looked again and noticed that Dawn was not putting up a fight. He hands were limp at her sides. The unknown girl's hands were at her shoulders and when she pulled away she could see a look of dazed awe on Dawn's face, lips parted, and a smirk of satisfaction on the girl's.

Suddenly it became clear. The secrets, the defensiveness, why she refused to tell where she was last night. It was all clear.

"Oh my…"

"I guess Little Bit is more like Red than you thought, eh Slayer?" Spike commented in a suggestive voice accompanied with a smirk.

Buffy didn't even hear him. "My God… Dawnie's a lesbian…"

Lol!! Okay, and that's the end of this chapter! I told you I'd get it them both out in the day. Well, what'd you think? snickers Also, I tried to stay true to the Bronze and had a LA band perform there. I highly suggest you check out XEO3's myspace page. They're awesome!

And sorry, not much of Ironhide in this chapter. Will make up next time. Also, be prepared for more of Rina and Shelly's antics... they may be boring now, but they're role in the sotry will bring about drastic changes.


	9. You So Owe Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers the movie or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm not making any money off of this. Okie dokey? Now, no suing the broke girl, okay?

A/N: Sorry again for not updating… school was closed so I couldn't get to a computer… damn snow days. . Grr…

Tobacco smoke wafted through the air and currently filled her lungs, but she did not notice. Music blared in her ears, currently Pink's "U an Ur Hand" at the moment but she paid no heed. All she was conscious of was the girl in front of her and the bizarreness she just told her.

_Holy crap…_

Dawn stared up at Mikaela, unable to form words at the moment. She was in total shock over what the older girl had just told her. She had been fully intent on getting the Hell ouft of here when the other girl roughly slammed her into the wall and forced her to listen to what she had to say.

_More robots like Ironhide? An alien war happened a few months ago? What the Hell?!_

So, that's what had happened in Mission City! She had heard reports on the news but they were very vague. It sounded like a terrorist attack from what her teacher told the class that day. She had been a little worried, but when you live on the Hellmouth and have to deal with your sister saving the world, not just America, terrorist attacks don't really register that much in the brain.

But an alien war that was billions of years old? Demons she could handle, but this? And what did they need with her? Mikaela didn't explain that yet. Were they here because Ironhide told them about her and wanted to make sure that she would not say anything? What could they possibly need with her?

Mikaela watched the younger girl, waiting for the shock to reside. She wasn't entirely sure if she had gone about this the right way, but what else could she do? Dawn was about to haul ass out of here and never speak to her again, fearing she was a "government freak" as she put it. She had to do something. So, she opted on slamming the girl into the wall and explaining everything. Well, up until the war at least. She would ease her into the idea that she may have come into contact with weird energy. Considering how panicky people in this town seemed, she'd probably freak out even more.

She could see the questions beginning to form in the young girl's eyes. Okay, she seemed to be gathering herself. Onto faze two.

"We should get out of here so I can ex-"

"Dawn!"

Both girls looked and Dawn's eyes widened at the sight two people standing in front of them. "Oh crap." She heard the young girl mutter.

Mikaela looked back and forth between the two newcomers. The girl was short, shorter than Dawn and had strawberry blonde. Her green eyes looked back and forth between herself and Dawn. She had an expression of shock, nervousness and anger on her face. The guy was tall with bleached hair and was extremely good looking. While the girl had mixed emotions, he simply looked amused.

"Buffy! Spike!" Dawn exclaimed, nervously.

Mikaela glanced at Dawn then back at the other two. Buffy? Optimus had mentioned someone named Buffy in his background check on Dawn. Oh yeah, she had an older sister. But, Spike? She guessed he was Buffy's boyfriend.

Buffy stepped forward, fully intent on ripping Dawn a new one. But then she stopped. How the Hell was she supposed to go about this? It was easy with Willow, she was her friend. But, Dawn? Good Lord! The monks made her dig chicks!? Were they perverts or something?

She shook her head slightly, getting the thought of perv monks out of her mind. She'd deal with that fact later. She was about to rip into Dawn but then remembered the unknown girl. She would slaughter Dawn at home; right now she would be supportive.

She forced a smile on her face. "Dawn, aren't you going to introduce me?"

Dawn blinked in confusion. Where was the yelling and bitching? Was she being nice for Mikaela's sake now and then murder her later when the older girl was gone? Oh well, when life gave you a break…

"Um, this is my…" she hesitated for a second. "…friend, Mikaela." She turned to the other brunette. "Mikaela, this is my sister Buffy and that's Spike."

Mikaela smiled politely. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

The blonde girl gave her an awkward smile. "You too."

"Pleasure." Spike said in a tone that suggested more, like he knew the punch line to a dirty joke.

Buffy kept the smile on her face and gave Spike an elbow to the arm.

"Ow! What was that for!?" He growled at the Slayer.

"You can go now. I've got it covered." The blonde said, Botox smile still firmly in place, but her eyes telling him to get lost.

"Oh, drag me along against my will but when things get interesting, I've got to shoo along, is that it?" Spike rolled his eyes and turned to leave. "See you around, ladies." He eyes Mikaela up and down appreciatively and then gave Dawn a smirk. "Nice work, Nibblet."

Dawn and Mikaela both wore confused expressions. The former car thief was used to leers from guys, but what was that last bit about? She glanced at Dawn who looked equally perplexed before turning back to Buffy.

"Erm, Buffy… I'll catch up with you later…I…" she hesitated. Damn, she was no good at this lying thing.

"We're just going to go outside for a bit."

At that, Buffy paled. She had her share of boyfriends during her glory days before she became the Slayer and she knew that "Go outside and talk" was code for "quickie in the alley." No, she never had alley quickies. Angel was her first lover after all but a lot of her friends did. And no way was she letting Dawn go have sex in an alley where anyone could see them!

"I'm sorry. But, we really need to get home. We don't want Mom coming home and worrying, do we?" Buffy fixed her sister with a firm stare.

"Oh for God's sake, Buffy!" Spike's amused voice called from a few feet away. Looks like he didn't leave after all. "Let the girls have their fun."

"Spike, you pervert! Didn't I tell you to get lost!?" Buffy snapped over her shoulder.

Dawn blinked as it settled in. What the Hell?! They thought she and Mikaela were lesbians!? She glanced at Mikaela whose cheeks were beet red in embarrassment. She figured it out too. "Buffy! You think…"

Buffy turned back to her sister and sighed. "Dawn, it's okay. I don't love you any less. I mean… I get it. The defensiveness, the way you kept getting bitchy with me. You were scared, and its fine…"

Dawn just stared back at her sister with wide eyes. She actually thought she was a lesbian! She was about to correct her on her mistake and then tell her what a moron she was but stopped. If she denied it, Buffy would either tell Dawn she was in denial or demand what was really going on. She didn't think she could think of a lie fast enough and Buffy knew when Dawn was bullshitting. And there was no way she could let Buffy know about Ironhide and the others that she had yet to meet. What the Hell should she do?

_Think Dawn. Come on! Think of a lie. Think of a lie._

While Dawn raced to think of a believable story, Mikaela was silent, cheeks still flaming but her mind going a mile a minute. The Autobots were the best friends anyone could hope for. And even though it had only been a few months she had come to love them all dearly. This Buffy girl might freak and tell people. Just because Dawn was trustworthy didn't mean that her older sister was. She couldn't risk it.

_Well, I sacrificed my record for my Dad… this one's not so bad._

So, sliding her arm around Dawn's waist, yanking the young girl to her, she gave Buffy a smile. "I'm sorry… it's my fault really…" She took a deep breath. She could do this. "I… just wasn't ready for our relationship to be brought in the open."

_What?!_

Dawn's head snapped to Mikaela and she gave the girl a disbelieving look. Was she for real?! She opened her mouth to say something but Mikaela spoke again, this time to her. She gave Dawn a smile and stared into her eyes. "Really, it's fine. I mean… there are _worse _things that can happen. Like…the _wrong_ people finding out." Her expression was sweet but her eyes were firm.

Being the smart girl that she was, Dawn did not miss the hidden meaning in the emphases on the words "worse" and "wrong." She knew she could not let Buffy find out about Ironhide and the others. Her eyes nearly widened in horror. If Buffy knew she might tell Riley and he'd get his government boys over here and who knew what would happen. She couldn't let that happen, not after they apparently saved the world and especially after Ironhide helped her out.

_Well, he gave me confidence and now I'm pretending to be gay to hide his secret… I think we're squared. _

"Sorry… that I didn't tell you sooner." Oh she just knew she was getting a huge dose of good karma for this.

Buffy gave a light shrug. "It's no biggie."

Turning to Buffy, she sighed. "So…you're not mad?"

Buffy scoffed. "Of course I'm mad! You snuck out after I told you not to! You know what's out there!" She then stopped and sighed. "But as far as this goes… No, I'm not mad. Just don't spring this on Mom, at least not now. We've got to ease her into this."

Dawn nodded swiftly. "Okay, no problem."

"And speaking of Mom, we have to get home. She's been working really hard today and we need to be there when she gets back. Just in case she over did it tonight."

Dawn wanted to protest but chose not to. She could not abandon her mother. She was the only one who was ever there for her. Turning to Mikaela, she gave the girl an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but… like I told you… my Mom's been sick and she needs me there. You can always call me later."

How could Mikaela protest? She of all people knew how important family was. With a sigh, she nodded. "Okay, I understand. We'll see each other, later though… _right?" _She pressed the last word of the sentence.

Dawn nodded. "Don't worry, we will."

The mechanic nodded and was about to leave but stopped. Shit! She had to make this look believable. She quickly leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Dawn's lips. "See you later, baby." And with that, she hurried away, brushing past a smirking Spike. She was really beginning to not like that pervert. She rushed down the balcony, stopping to use the bathroom as well as let out a few "Oh, my God's!" at the fact that she just kissed a girl.

Dawn just stood there in mute shock as Mikaela ran off. A girl just kissed her. Dear God. She was brought out of her stupor by her sister grabbing her arm.

"Come on. We're headed out of here." Buffy said, pulling Dawn down the stairs.

"I'll say it again, Li'l Bit…" Spike said as he followed the two down the stairs. "Nice work."

"Spike!" Dawn gasped, embarrassed.

"Shut up!" Buffy snapped.

"How'd you snag a piece like her anyway?"

"Spike!"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?!"

S.S.S.S.S

"UGH! Good grief! I still can't believe what happened to me! Who the Hell was that bitch?"

Glory stomped down the stairs of her luxurious apartment. Well, it wasn't hers. It belonged to a couple she had killed. She was still extremely pissed about the whole thing. "When I find her I'm going to…" she stopped and blinked in confusion. "Who's that?"

Jinx and Dreg were currently holding a girl by the arms. She was blonde with dark brows, indicated the dye job. She did not put up a fight but looked extremely bored as the two minions held her. She then looked at Glory and her face melted into an expression of extreme admiration.

"Most Almighty Glorficos!" Her head dipped in bow. "You are even more wonderful than my family led me to believe. "She lifted her head and regarded the goddess blue Vera Wang dress and Gucci shoes to match. "And your sense of style is killer!"

Glory arched a brow. Okay, so far she liked this girl. The two morons holding her never once acknowledged her attire in all the time she's been on this suck-ass planet.

"Okay. I like you." She smiled, walking up to the girl. She looked her up in down, quickly coming to a conclusion. "Nythislan demon." She looked at Jinx and Dreg who still held the girl. "Let her go, you know the Nythislans love me!"

The two minions let her go, bowing as they backed away.

"Forgive our idiocy, oh most beautiful one!" Dreg sucked up.

"We are unworthy of you." Jinx equally sucked up.

"Yeah, I know." Glory waved them off, still eying the girl. "What's your name?"

"Rinacora, most Awesome Glorifcos." She bowed. "I am here to aide you in your search for the Key."

Gasping excitedly, Glory gripped the girl by the arms forgetting about the rude bitch that took her monk and broke her shoe last night. "You know where my Key is?"

Rina shook her head. "I'm afraid, not Might Glorificos. But, I do know who you were in a fight with last night."

Glory let her go. "Oh yeah. Who was that brat? She was strong for a mortal and rude as Hell! She broke my Versace shoe and stole my monk!"

"She was a Slayer."

Rolling her eyes, Glory scoffed. "Oh my God! A Slayer?! How… common! I swear, if I had friends and they heard about this…" She stopped and turned back to the Nythislan girl. "Anything else, Rini?"

"Yes… she has something to do with your Key." Rina pressed a hand to her head. "I think the monks who took it sent it to her to protect."

"UGH!! Those little robed toads!" Glory screamed before calming down and turning back to the demon girl. "Go kill her for me, okay?"

Rina blinked. She wanted her to kill the Slayer? She was no fool. She knew she could not hope to defeat the Slayer, not with all of the resources this one had at her disposal. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when images began shifting through her head. Grasping her head, she fell to her knees, breathing heavily.

Glory watched the girl with a confused expression. "Jinx, what's up with her?"

"She's having a vision, Oh Most Divine. The Nythislans are known for their psychic abilities. Some receive visions others are hit with waves of intuition and just _know_ things."

"Oh…"

Rina gasped a couple more times as the images cleared. What the Hell? They were here and apparently going to aid the Slayer. "Shit…" she muttered and looked up at her goddess. "Glorificos…"

"Just Glory."

"Apologizes… Glory." Rina bowed. "The Slayer is going to have help… big help. Help that I cannot possibly hope to stand against… and they may even cause trouble for you."

Glory arched her brows and bent down, yanking the girl up by her collar. "Start explaining… and make it quick or I'll snap your neck for taking so long."

Rina gasped and began to talk. "They're here. I don't know why they're involved with the Slayer but they are. They're called Cybertronians and they're from another planet in this mortal coil, just really far from here."

Dropping the girl, Glory took a step back. "Say what?"

Gasping, Rina slowly got to her feet. "Don't worry, I…" she gasped in a gulp of air. "I can help you."

* * *

"What is taking her so long?"

Sam sighed as he heard Ironhide's impatient voice over the com link. He tossed a quick glance at the Topkick parked next to him. "Well, judging by all the cars here, it's crowded in there. You guys have no idea how hard it is to find someone in a crowded club."

"Here she comes." Bumblebee said when he noticed Mikaela coming out of the building.

"Her heart rate is higher than normal." Ironhide said. "Something must have happened."

"Hey, isn't that Dawn?" Sam asked when he saw another brunette exit the building in the company of two blondes.

The moment Dawn stepped outside her head snapped up. She could feel him here. He was right outside. She wanted to run and talk to him but couldn't with Buffy and Spike here. She quickly zoned in on the only Topkick in the lot and she gave a small wave. She was delighted at the quick rev of his engine she received in return.

Buffy noticed this and looked up, noticing Mikaela making her way towards black Topkick and a yellow Camero with racing strips. She felt that protectiveness come over her and she turned to Spike.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up. If anything comes at Dawn, kill it. Understand me?" Her voice left no room for negotiation.

Spike was happy to assist his Slayer in any way that he could, but instead of voicing that, he gave a nonchalant shrug. "Whatever, Slayer." He was about to leave when he caught whiff of something. It was weird; it didn't smell human or demon for that matter. It was like nothing he had ever smelled before. He was torn. He wanted to stay with Buffy in case whatever it was decided to get nasty, but on the other hand he couldn't leave Dawn.

Sighing, he grabbed the young girl's arm. "Come on, Nibblet. Best get out of here before the beasties decide to come out for some fun."

Dawn paled at the mention of demons and quickened her pace. "Yeah, sure."

"Yeah and you can tell me all about this new girl of yours."

"Uh… sure…"

"Did she just wave at you, Ironhide?" Sam asked as Mikaela made her way over to them.

Ironhide said nothing; he could feel his spark reacting to her again. Slag it! He wished they were somewhere closed off so Ratchet could perform scans, get a diagnosis and fix this because being linked to a human would cause nothing but trouble.

"What's happening, Sam?" Optimus' voice asked over the link.

"Dawn just waved at Ironhide and here comes Mikaela… but Dawn left with some tall guy with bleached hair and…" He stopped when he saw the small girl that had left with Dawn come up behind Mikaela.

"What's going on?" Ratchet asked, worried when the boy had stopped talking.

"Shh." The human shushed the Autobots as he watched. It was probably nothing serious. He was used to girls they didn't know asking Mikaela about hair tips or where she got her shoes.

"Mikaela." The blonde girl called.

The mechanic stopped when she heard her name and turned. "Buffy?" She asked.

"It's Dawn's sister." Sam whispered. "She's talking to Mikaela."

Sam watched as the short blonde walked with purpose towards his girlfriend and gave her a firm stare. "You seem like a nice girl, so I'm going to give it to you straight." Buffy said. "You hurt my sister in anyway, break her heart, make her cry and I'll break every bone in your body, understood?"

At first Sam was pissed as he heard this girl threaten Mikaela. Who the Hell did she think she was?! But then some of the words she used sank in. Break Dawn's heart? Make her cry? What on Earth was she talking about? He watched, more than a little confused, as Mikaela gave Buffy a smile.

"Don't worry… I'll treat her right."

Buffy didn't waver. "You'd better." And with that she turned to leave.

Mikaela watched the older girl leave, feeling more than a little shaken. She was used to girls telling her not to hurt whoever she dated, whether it was their brother or best male friend. She was also used to the threats, but with this girl it was different. When she looked into her green eyes she saw that she was not fucking around. She'd really beat the shit out of her and have fun while doing it.

_I feel sorry for whoever does date Dawn for real then…_

"Um, Mikaela?"

Oh shit. Did Sam hear that?!

Slowly turning around, she saw Sam wearing a confused and intrigued look on his face. She sighed and got inside of Bumblebee's passenger side.

"Mikaela, report." Optimus said over the link.

"It…erm…" She sighed. "It went well. I found her, made small talk to gain her trust but when I told her I knew Ironhide she freaked out on me. She thought I was some government weirdo."

There was silence over the com link as they waited for her to continue. "Then… she was about to run away so I forced her to listen to me and I… told her what really happened in Mission City." She tensed, waiting for the yelling that never came.

"How did she take that?" The leader asked as Bumblebee pulled out of the lot to meet with the other two, Ironhide following.

"Erm, she was shocked. But before I could explain anything else her sister and her pervert boyfriend showed up. They…" she sighed in embarrassment. "They thought were lesbians."

"What?!" Sam gasped and then fell into laughter.

"Shut up!" Mikaela growled.

Optimus ran a quick search. "I do not see why they would believe you to be inhabitants of a Greek island and…" he stopped as the slang definition went through his processors. "…oh…"

"What happened next, Mikaela?" Ratchet asked. He did not understand her embarrassment, but after a quick search he got the idea. This country was extremely homophobic and though he knew Mikaela was tolerant, it was still embarrassing to her at least.

"I ran with it!" Mikaela sighed. "I couldn't let them find out… so we said we were dating. Then she had to leave because her Mom is sick so… to make it believable… I kissed her."

"So, you're cheating on me now, huh?" Sam asked in false anger, quickly receiving a slap in the arm.

"Shut up!" Mikaela growled and then her glare turned to the dashboard as she heard Bee's radio start to come on. "I swear to God, Bee, if you play something by T.A.T.U I'm taking your rims!"

The radio clicked off before any lyrics could be heard. However the Camero gave an amused rev of his engine.

"So, that's why the older sister threatened you?" Ironhide asked.

"Yeah, she gave me the "hurt her and I'll kick your ass" speech."

"I want you to know… I don't resent you. As long as you're happy." Sam said with false seriousness, face threatening to split into snickers and Mikaela glared at him.

"I'll be really happy once I elbow you in the face."

"Okay, I'll be good."

"Wait." Bee said. "So she doesn't know about this energy collection?"

"No… I wanted to ease her into it but then her sister showed up. She agreed to meet up with us later."

"She has your cell number?" Sam asked.

Mikaela sighed in frustration. "Shit…" How the Hell were they going to speak with her?

* * *

"What the fuck!"

The smell of burning rubber filled the air as tires screeched across the pavement.

"Shit!"

Shelly gasped as she slammed on the breaks of her BMW, grunting as the seatbelt jerked her back, dark brown hair flying into her face. She had just received a vision. They were the peskiest things at times. Well, it wasn't so much a vision as it was a heightened sense of things. She never saw things, she just knew them. She tried to use it to find the Key, but to no avail. The monks had hidden it good, not even her psychic senses could find it. She just knew that the Slayer had something to do with it.

But what her senses told her at the moment was that something had come to Sunnydale, something she was familiar with. When she got a sense of what that something was, she nearly crashed into a tree.

"The Hell… the N.B.Es are in Sunnydale… and the goody-goody ones at that?!"

Good Glorificos, did they find out about the Slayer and decided to form some "Save the Humans" coalition? She could sense that they were in Sunnydale because of the Key, but she was not entirely sure why. All she knew was that if the Goodybots got their hands on it her goddess was going to have a much tougher time than she would have before if it were just the Slayer and her cartoon pals she had to deal with.

"Shit…" She pressed her hand to her head. "Come on… give me something here. There has to be something I can do!"

She gasped as more sensations washed over her, giving her insight and knowledge. She knew what her sister would try to do and she knew exactly how to counter it. She would win her goddess's favor.

"Sorry, sister dear. But, looks like I'm winning this one."

She quickly got out of her car and opened the trunk, bending over to rummage through the magical items she kept in the back just in case. Pulling out the things she needed, she sat down in the grass, preparing to work her spell.

* * *

"Okay… so you met her through a friend. She's seventeen and goes to the private school."

After arriving home, Dawn had tried to escape to her room but Buffy had followed her. After yelling at her about sneaking out again, she then began asking questions about her "relationship" with Mikaela. Luckily during the walk home, Dawn had thought up numerous lies so she was prepared. The first one wasn't really a lie. Now the two were seated on Dawn's bed, the older trying to be more understanding towards her sister's orientation while the younger just fed her sister a bowl of lies.

"Yeah..."

Buffy fixed Dawn with a stare and arched a brow. "Have you two…?" she trailed off.

"No!" Dawn gasped and then took a deep break to calm down, her cheeks flaming. "No… she's very understanding and knows I'm not ready for that yet…"

"How long have you been…?"

"Dating? A couple of weeks."

Buffy nodded slowly. "So… you've known for a while that you were…" She stopped. "Wait, are you lesbian or bisexual?"

Flushing madly, Dawn looked away. "Bi." God! Ironhide so owed her!

Buffy nodded slowly again, trying to get a grip on this. Her sister was a lesbian. She remembered what happened with Willow. She was secretive about it and their relationship was strained, it was mainly her fault as well. She was wrapped up in her own stuff, mainly Riley. She didn't want that to happen with Dawn. Even though she was some mystic energy thing, she felt like her sister and felt the need to protect her and understand her.

"So, no sex? If you don't mind my asking how far have you guys…?" Buffy trailed off, highly uncomfortable. "You know, it's okay. Don't tell me if you don't want to. Just promise me you won't do anything you're not ready to do."

Dawn nodded. "Promise."

"And just so you know, I gave her the 'I'll kill you if you hurt my sister' speech."

Instead of being pissed, Dawn gave a chuckle. "Thanks, but don't worry. She won't."

Tilting her head, Buffy turned Dawn's face toward her with a gentle hand. "Do you love her?"

"No… just extreme like." The brunette said, blushing at the awkwardness. "Don't you have something to kill?"

Smiling, Buffy let go of Dawn's chin. "I'm going to go patrol." The Slayer smiled and patted Dawn on her knee. She stood and headed to the door, but then stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "I still love you all the same. No matter whom you choose to go out with."

"Thanks…" Dawn said, giving her older sister a smile.

Buffy then left, shutting the door behind her. When she could hear the older girl's footsteps going down the stairs, Dawn flopped on her bed, covering her face with a pillow. "OH MY GOD!"

Dear God! Her sister thought she was bisexual! Good grief, Ironhide and those other robots whoever they were so owed her!

* * *

"Okay, why are we here again?"

After the Nythislan had her vision and then went into some Sci-Fi explanation about what was helping the Slayer..., God, she actually fought a Slayer …the demon girl had requested that she as well as her minions come with her. She agreed only because this girl seemed knowledgeable about what was coming to fuck her plans. After piling into the demoness's Volkswagen and driving for a bit, the goddess found herself as well as her minions inside of a very large and empty warehouse at the far edges of town.

The girl was gathering items for a spell, running back and forth from her car to the warehouse. "I'm bringing help, Mighty One."

Rolling her eyes, Glory moved to a far wall. "Well, it'd better impress me or I'm yanking your ears off and feeding them to you."

Flinching, Rina began to work her spell.

* * *

Hearing the door close, Dawn sighed and sat up, preparing to write in her journal when she caught the scent of tobacco. She brought a handful of her shirt to her face and sniffed. Crap! She smelled like smoke! Mom would totally spaz!

She rushed to the bathroom and quickly discarded her clothes, jumping into the shower. She shrieked at the contact of cold water to her skin but relaxed as the water grew warmer. She quickly washed her hair and body, then doing it again to make sure. After bringing a lock of wet hair to her face and smelling only peaches, she rinsed off and got out of the shower.

"God that would've sucked if Mom came home…"

She wrapped a bright pink towel around her body and head out of the bathroom. In her hurry, she forgot to bring her pajamas with her.

"Mom?" She called, in case her mother had returned from her dinner.

After receiving no answer, she breathed a sigh of relief and went into her room. Going to her bureau, she pulled out a pair of light blue pajamas, setting them on the bed. Unwrapping the towel from around her body, using it to dry her hair.

"Dawn."

Her eyes widened at the familiar voice that spoke her name. She looked up and gasped at the shining blue optics in her window as well as noticing that tug.

"Ironhide!"

She then remembered she was standing there stark naked.

Face and chest flushing wildly, she stooped low and brought one arm over her breasts and grabbed at her lava lamp with the other, chucking it at the peeping robot, hitting him square in the nose.

"YOU FUCKING PERVERT!!"

* * *

"Oi…"

Rina slumped over, totally exhausted. God a spell of that magnitude took a lot out of a girl. She lifted her green eyes up at Glory who stood in silence, mouth hanging open.

"Whoa…" The goddess said finally. "That is so…" she smiled. "…cool."

"Thank…" the demon girl panted, "…you, Glory." She pulled herself up, panting as she spoke. "Usually I can… work a spell… like this with no problem." She stood, slightly stumbling and Dreg and Jinx caught her. "But… because of it's…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Glory waved off the girl, her eyes never leaving the being that was in the middle of the warehouse floor. "So, this thing'll help me?"

"Yes."

Leaning over the unconscious creature, Glory looked it over a couple of times before turning to the girl. "What'd you say his name was again?"

"Starscream."

* * *

I think I'll end this chapter here. I'd like to go on but I have to take off. Remember no computer. But yes, hope you liked this. I know I loved writing it!


	10. Oh Frag!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Transformers_ or _Buddy, the Vampire Slayer. _Let's just leave it at that. And no, I'm not making any money off of this.

A/N: Okay, this is going to be a little hard for me to write. I'm not too familiar with Starscream, but after watching a few episodes of G1 and reading up, I think I got him pretty good. If I did not,

"Okie dokey, so… he's a… what again?"

There was a voice talking. An organic voice at that. Judging by the high pitch of the voice, it was a female.

"A Cybertronian, my Goddess." Another female organic was speaking.

They were talking about him, that much he could gather as his systems slowly came online. Primus, he was disoriented.

"Most beauteous one, it's waking up!" This time a male spoke.

"Well, it's about damn time!"

They were speaking in English? A major human language on Earth. Wait, why were they speaking in English when he was back in space?

Groaning, Starscream sat up as his optics came back online. He felt strange and overwhelmed. What the Pit had happened to him? He took in his surroundings, only becoming more confused. He was in a grey building and judging by the atmosphere he was back on Earth.

_What the frag!_

S.S.S.S.S.S

**CRASH!**

"What was that?!" Sam gasped.

Sam and Mikaela both jumped at the sound of glass shattering against metal. They were parked in front of the Summers home inside of Bumblebee, Optimus and Ratchet behind them. While Mikaela and Sam tried to think of a way to get Dawn to talk to them they were reminded that while the Autobots were good guys they were extremely impatient.

So, at the order of Optimus Prime, they rolled to the Summers home. The plan was that Ironhide, since she was the one she seemed to trust the most, would get Dawn to come out and speak with them. It seemed like a good plan. Ironhide had sensed her in the house and a quick scan from Bumblebee had proven that she was the only one there so there shouldn't have been any problems. However, the sound of something breaking quickly made the humans change their minds.

"I don't know!" Mikaela reached for the door handle, intent on finding out what was happening when she heard Dawn's enraged shriek from the window.

"YOU FUCKING PERVERT!"

Both humans quickly looked at each other. "Oh shit…" They said in unison.

Exiting the Camero, the two humans ran around to the side of the house where Ironhide had gone, skidding to a stop at what they saw.

"OW!" The bulky Autobot gripped his nose in pain, and then threw a glare at the girl in the room. "What is your pro-HEY!?" An object flew out of the window and cracked him right below the optic and fell to the ground, nearly hitting Sam in the foot. It was an American History book.

"You don't think…" Same began.

"…that she was nude?" Mikaela finished is question.

"SICKO!" Dawn's enraged shout followed by a tennis shoe to Ironhide's forehead answered her question. "I'm guessing she was…"

Inside, Dawn was madly throwing anything and everything at the robot, hoping to get the freak away from her window. And to think, she pretended to be a lesbian to protect this sickie!

"SICKO!" The girl screamed in rage, throwing anything and everything she could find. "YOU GODDAMN PERVERT!"

Ducking underneath the window to avoid the onslaught of stuffed animals, books and shoes, Ironhide growled in frustration. "What is wrong with you?!"

"What's going on here?"

Dawn blinked in confusion as well as fear at the new voice. It was deep and powerful. She was frozen, afraid to move now. She could hear him speaking, large footsteps coming closer. The new comer sounded exasperated.

She squeaked as a new robotic face, this one with a blue helm, came into her window. He was mainly fussing at Ironhide.

"Ironhide, what's the matter with you? Did you scare the girl or-Whoa!"

She was about to clock the new one with her platform boot but stopped mid-swing when this one actually brought a huge metal hand over his eyes and looked away.

"Apologies!"

This calmed the hysterical girl down a bit. Okay, this one had enough sense to look away. Maybe he wasn't so bad. She could hear the new one fussing at Ironhide again.

"You know humans are extremely sensitive about being seen without clothing! Especially the females! What is with you?!" She could hear the sound of odd clicks in the distance, it reminded her of laughter. The new one was yelling again. "Bumblebee, stop laughing!"

Taking advantage of this slight break in the madness, Dawn quickly yanked on her pajamas and rushed over to the window. Her eyes widened at the sight of the red and blue bot that was currently admonishing Ironhide and farther off to the side, the small black and yellow bot that looked extremely amused by the whole situation.

"What the Hell?!" She screamed and all heads snapped to her direction.

The biggest of the group knelt down so his face was level with her window. She backed up, still slightly nervous but when gave her something akin to a reassuring smile, she felt herself relax. She knew he wouldn't hurt her.

"Dawn Summers, I presume?" He asked and she gave brisk nod.

"Uh-huh… yeah."

"My name is Optimus Prime." He gave an exasperated glance over his shoulder. "I believe you already know Ironhide."

At that, Dawn felt her anger and embarrassment flare up again. "Yeah, the big perv who was ogling my goodies!"

"What in the name of Primus does that mean?" Ironhide asked annoyed from behind his leader.

"It means seeing her naked." Mikaela's voice called from the ground.

The big one, Optimus, actually looked slightly embarrassed. "I apologize, Dawn. I know how sensitive humans are about being seen without their clothes."

She flushed hotly but tried to put it behind her. At least this one was apologizing and he seemed really sincere about it. "It's okay…I mean, at least you covered your eyes."

Optimus was relieved that the girl wasn't mad, or else this might all go to the Pit. He researched humans after Mission City and he learned the humans, especially females, were extremely sensitive about being seen without clothing. He actually learned that the hard way when he accidentally saw Mikaela with no clothes once in her room and it did _not_ go well at all. Ironhide was lucky. He didn't get hit with a flying power drill!

He looked away, slightly embarrassed. "I just wanted you to know it was not my intention, nor was it Ironhide's, to…ogle your goodies."

Dawn couldn't help but smile at this one. He was so kind and soft-spoken. He slightly reminded her of Willow in a way with a mix of Angel, without the brooding. He was kind, compassionate, gentle and… a big spaz.

"Oh, my God! You are so adorable!" She squealed in delighted amusement.

The giant mech blinked and then let out a small chuckle at the girl's amusement. "Thank you."

S.S.S.S.S

How was he back on Earth? This made no sense!

"What the frag is going on here?!"

"Ooh, look who's up."

Starscream quickly got to his foot and he zoned in on the four organics who were staring up at him. The two males clad in brown robes were both extremely disfigured and hideous by human standards as well as his own. They probably had some sort of disease of the skin. They both looked up at him in a mixture of awe and fright, and as well they should! He knew he was a sight to behold.

His attention shifted to the two golden-haired females. The first one was clad in all black and was not exactly attractive by human standards but she wasn't ugly either. Her expression was both tired and satisfied as she looked up at him. The second one wore a blue dress that was short, leaving most of her legs exposed. As far as human standards went she was attractive and the haughty look on her face said that she knew it too. He knew then that she was the one in charge. He knew the look of a ruthless leader when he saw one who would kill you in a Spark pulse and feel nothing but glee while doing it. She was looking at him now like he was a shiny new toy that she was going to have much fun playing with.

Who did this human think she was?!

Now, he was usually one for guile and speed but sometimes brute force was in order. And killing the haughty human who thought she could control him was definitely one of those times.

He extracted his cannons, aimed at all four of them and fired…

…only for his blasts to explode against some unseen wall and send him flying backward into another unseen wall.

One of the females giggled. "It's so much fun when they first wake up!"

Shaking his head, he slowly got back to his feet. What the Pit was that?! He carefully reached out his hand and it was blocked from going any further. An energy barrier? When did humans get smart enough to make those? He scanned the barrier, finding it extremely powerful. There was no way he could hope to breech it.

"So, how strong is that thing again?" The female in blue was speaking to the other girl.

"Only a God could breech it, or a powerful spell caster."

What in the name of Primus were they going on about?

"Yo! Starscream!" The one in blue was speaking to him.

This was humiliating! Humans had managed to bring him here against his will! He turned his full glare on the girl, disgusted. Her brows shot up at the repulsed look on his face and she turned again to the girl.

"Why the Hell is he looking at me like that, Rini?! Does he have a death wish?!"

Death wish? As if this puny human had a chance against him.

"His kind hates humans… He thinks they're like insects, Glory." The other seemed to worship this arrogant one.

"Well, can't argue with him there…" The one called Glory muttered before throwing a glare up at him. "Okie dokey, bub! Listen to me!" Was she actually shouting at him? The raw nerve! However he could do nothing due to this energy barrier.

"I do not answer to you, you revolting squishy?"

Blue eyes widened in insulted shock and red painted lips fell open.

_Oh, no he didn't!_

Striding up to the energy barrier, she reared her dainty fist back and punched a hole through the barrier without breaking a sweat. He barely had time to be shocked when the vague sensation of an insect swiftly making its way up his body overtook him. The next thing he knew this Glory was now standing on his cheek, glaring into his left optic.

And this had all taken place in less than a second.

How did this mortal get so fast? He couldn't even run that fast!

He brought a hand up to swat at the female but she flipped out of the way and landed on top of his head. "Hey!" She caught a hold of his finger and yanked back with all of her strength, causing the Seeker to cry out in agony. Primus that hurt! This human was strong!

_Too strong to be a human…_

She let go of his finger and jumped to his shoulder, reaching into the space where his shoulder and neck met and grabbed a handful of wiring, twisting with her inhuman strength. He shrieked again, causing the three outside the barrier to cover their ears but his assailant paid no attention.

"You do NOT look at me like I'm some…human!" She spat the word in disgust, giving his wires a hard twist, forcing him to jerk in pain. She let go and moved back up to his left optic, her hand gripping the metal above his optic and her foot pressing down on the lens to keep him from closing it.

"Look at me!" He really didn't have a choice, did he? "I am great and I am beautiful and all eyes turn to me when I come into view because my name is a holy name and you will DO AS I SAY!" She punctuated her sentence with a punch above his optic, puncturing the metal and causing him a Hell of a lot of pain.

Through his pain he somehow managed to focus on the woman at his optic. Her face was twisted into an expression of maniacal rage but her eyes were the scariest things he'd ever seen in his life. They appeared human but were filled with nothing but pure evil. This was not like Megatron who lusted for power. No, she had power but now most of it was gone and she was anything but pleased about it.

Then something strange happened, when her fist went through his helm, her hand hit part of his processor circuitry. Usually, when Glory's hand goes through someone's cranium, it either shatter it or she sucks their brains to rejuvenate herself. However, with him the opposite happened. Glory gasped as she felt herself being sucked into him. She did not weaken, nor did she grow stronger, she just saw her memories flipping through her head and she knew they were going inside of the Cybertronian, not all of them but enough. She didn't retract her fist to stop the process, only controlled what images he saw. This was the best way to let this pompous ass know who he was dealing with.

Starscream's vocals hitched as his processors were overcome with images. They were her memories, he realized. It was like watching a projection. His optics widened, as images flew through his processors. There was a world unlike any he had ever seen. It was filled with nothing but pain and torment and she ruled there with two others. She tormented and murdered with no remorse and nothing but. He saw through her eyes, her power, everything that she was. In mere seconds he saw the way she tormented those in her domain, loving every second of it. In that instant he knew that she was beyond anything he could hope to understand. She was beyond organic or mech, she was a God of torment. He also saw that she was running out of time, that whatever she needed this Key for she had to get her hands on it fast.

"Whoa!"

Glory pulled her fist from his cranium and shook it off, lightly shaking her head. "Head rush…" She giggled madly for a moment and then turned back to her captive's optic, giving him a sweet smile.

"So… are we going to cooperate?

"You're not a human…"

Her expression shifted into one of exaggerated shock. "Really? I didn't know that!" She glanced behind her at the three on the ground outside the barrier. "They're not human either. The girl, she's the one who brought you here. She worked for some group, Sector Seven or something before they got terminated…God, what is with governments and their shit…?"

Sector Seven. For a fleeting moment he wished he had blown up the entire building, Allspark be damned. It would've been better than suffering this humiliation. Considering Megatron's actions got it destroyed it was moot point now.

"Hey! We're listening to ME talking right now!" Glory knocked on his head, right between his optics.

He said nothing which pissed her off even more. She growled and kicked him square in the optic, shatter the delicate glass and causing several sparks to fly. He screamed in agony and she moved to his right optic, fist reared back prepared to give it an encore performance.

"Well?" She asked again. "You saw what I'm capable of, Starry. This me in a good mood. Just imagine what I can do to all of those sensitive wires with my little demon buddies down there to bind you." Her eyes went cold and she tilted her head forward. "So, are you going to cooperate?"

"What…" his intakes were going a mile a minute, "…do you want with me?"

"When the time comes, you'll know." She leaned back and let him go. "But until then." She gave him a kiss between the optics. "…just chill out for a bit." And with that she jumped down, punched a hole much too small for him escape through and left.

"Later, Starry!" She waved then turned to the two males. "Get back to the place and bring my stuff here. This is our new hide out."

"Yes, most scrumptious one!" The taller of the two bowed and the hurriedly left the building.

Starscream slumped to the ground in a heap, defeated and more than a little humiliated. But more than that, he was terrified. He saw what she was and what she could easily do to him. She was more frightening and terrifying than Megatron!

He brought a hand to his ruined optic and cycled a sigh. He would assist this Glory. It wasn't like he had a choice.

_I'm in the Pit. This is the Pit and I'm in it._

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Dawn…"

Looking and seeing the annoyed yet apologetic face of Ironhide, she sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I hit you with a lava lamp… and my books and other stuff." She heard a slight shift from Optimus and he looked like he was trying not to laugh. "… but, if you knew human females were touchy about being seen in the raw, why'd you stay there?"

"I did not think about that at the time, Dawn and I'm sorry but I needed to see you again."

That made her immeasurably happy and she forgot all of her previous wrath. "Really?"

That strange feeling in her blood started again and her heart began to pound. She felt as if there were something she should be remembering. She leaned forward, wanting to get closer to him. It was weird, but it felt like her blood was calling to him.

Feeling that strange crackle in his Spark, Ironhide took a few more steps to her window, unconsciously elbowing Optimus out of the way just to be closer to her. The leader gave a surprised grunt and looked in shocked annoyance at his weapon's specialist but stopped when he noticed the exchange between the two. Hey both seemed totally entranced with each other.

_So this is what Ironhide was talking about._

He sent a silent message out to Ratchet, who was standing off to the side and CMO came forward, observing the two.

"What's going with those two?" Optimus asked.

"I have no idea, I've seen nothing like it." Ratchet replied. "Ironhide!" He yelled in his 'listen to me, or suffer the consequences' tone of voice.

Both mech and female snapped at the authoritative voice and looked at Ratchet. Ironhide looked annoyed while Dawn looked nervous at the sight of the yellow robot. He seemed all business-like and…stuffy.

_Oh God, if he was human and British he'd be…Giles!_

"This…" Ironhide sounded irritated, "…is Ratchet, the medical officer and pain in the aft."

"Yes, it is important that we speak with you as soon as possible." The CMO spoke to the girl, ignoring Ironhide.

_Oh, yeah. Mikaela had said something about that. _

Wait, a minute… She had told Mikaela that she couldn't speak with them tonight! She leaned farther out the window and glared at the older girl.

"I told you I couldn't!" She whispered loudly in outrage.

"I…" Mikaela sighed and looked up at Optimus. "Get me up there, please?"

The Autobot leader lowered his hand, allowing her to sit in it. He then brought her up to the window. She reached out a hand for help and Dawn took it, pulling her into her room.

"I tried explaining it, but they're really impatient." Mikaela explained and Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Well…" she turned back to the window. "You guys are going to have to make it quick because if-Whoa!"

Dawn jerked back as another huge robotic face peered into her window. He had the same bright blue eyes as the others but while Ironhide seemed more gruff and Optimus wise and kind, this one was kind of…goofy. The way he behaved reminded her of…well, her when she wanted to get a good look at something. He also seemed a lot… younger than the other two.

"Erm, hi…" She waved.

He gave her a small wave and the sound of a radio clicked to life as he reached in and with a gentle finger, tapped her under the chin.

_"Here's lookin' at you, kid."_

"God, Bumblebee, you're such a flirt." Mikaela said with the roll of her eyes and a smile.

His radio clicked on again, and this time a clip from the movie _Barnyard Animals _played.

_"You know me…lady killer."_

Beneath them, Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head. God, Bee was such a flirt. He then stopped. Wait a minute… if Bee was in regular mode…

"Bee! Where's Mojo!"

Bumblebee simply lifted his other hand and uncurled his fingers, showing the soundly sleeping Chihuahua.

Dawn blinked at the male voice and stuck her head out the window again. She noticed the boy on her lawn. "Who are you?"

"Sam Witwicky." He gave her a wave. "Bumblebee's my guardian…"

"Oh…" She nodded, taking in the weirdness. Giant robots guarded humans. Okay…

She then blinked. Why did the others talk and this one didn't?

"He doesn't talk?" Dawn asked Mikaela.

"He can but his voice is messed up right now. While he's getting it fixed he likes using the radio to talk."

"Oh…" She turned back to the younger bot. "Bumblebee, right?" He nodded his head. She hesitantly extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Dawn."

Instead of shaking it, he gently took it between two fingers and leaned forward, bringing her hand to what she thought was his mouth…or where his mouth would be, mimicking a kiss.

Mikaela smirked and Optimus chuckled while Ironhide simply looked exasperated. They had no time for this!

She giggled. This one was so cute! It was from her mom's favorite movie _Casablanca. _She suddenly paled. Her mom! She would be home soon and if she saw a bunch of giant robots in her yard…

"You guys!" She whispered loudly. "You have to get out of here! If my Mom comes home and see's you…"

Dawn and Mikaela froze at the sound of keys going into a lock from downstairs.

"Dawnie?" Her mother's voice called.

"Oh…fuck."

I think I'll end it right here. Again, it was getting insanely long. If I didn't portray Starscream right, I apologize. But he strikes me as the type who'll suck it up and deal with it until an opportunity presents itself.


	11. Admirable

Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers _or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. _They both belong to others who are far more talented than I am. Okie dokey? Stop making me depress myself!

A/N: Okay, this story is already 10 chapters long and it's not going much of anywhere, so I'm going to try and make the following chapters a little longer. Also, instead of weeks, I made this story take place a few months after Mission city… it'll just make more sense that way… I'm going to go back and fix that, don't worry.

Cold fear ran up Dawn's spine when she heard her mother's voice calling from downstairs.

"Oh crap…"

She frantically looked around her. How the Hell was she going to hide them? Mikaela? No problem, just shove her in the closet.

She yanked the closet door open and with her free hand she gripped Mikaela's wrist and shoved the older girl in with a strength she didn't know she possessed. The mechanic yelped at the rough treatment and sudden loss of balance but did not protest.

The younger girl looked around again. Mikaela was taken care of, now what about…? She leaned out of the window and her eyes met Ironhide's optics.

"Ironhide, my Mom's home. If she sees you guys, she'll freak out." She was whispering loudly and frantically waving her arms around. "You gotta get outta here."

"Dawn, honey?"

She flinched when she heard her mother's voice again. She had to do something. She turned back to the window and looked at the four giant mechs outside. "I'm going to distract her… You guys go away!"

"But Dawn, we really need to speak with-" The medical officer Ratchet had began but she let out a sound of frustration.

"I'm not going to tell anyone about you, go away!" And with that she whirled around and darted out of her room to meet, and hopefully distract, her mother.

--

"Dawn?"

Joyce frowned when she received no answer. She had returned home from a long day at the gallery and then a dinner with a huge client and wanted to talk to her little baby for a bit. She looked around and noticed no Xander or Anya on the couch, or Willow and Tara for that matter. Buffy left Dawn home alone?! She was going to kill her eldest once she got home!

"Dawn?" She called again. It was only ten o'clock and the weekend. Dawn was usually watching some inappropriate cartoon by now.

"Hiya, Mom!"

Joyce jumped when Dawn appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing blue drawstring pants and matching fitted tee. "Oh, honey there you are. Buffy left you home alone?" The older woman's face was slightly outraged.

"Oh… don't be mad at her." Dawn said quickly. "Y'know… she's…" she seemed to hesitate for a minute. "She has an important job to do…like you always say."

Joyce frowned as she eyed her daughter. Dawn never, under any circumstances, defended Buffy. Maybe something had happened between the two girls while she was gone. Maybe they finally had that talk she had wanted them to have.

"Mom, you've had a really busy day… you should lie down." Dawn was speaking very quickly, and looking a bit jittery.

"Dawn, honey? Are you all right?" Joyce asked in concern. "You seem a little nervous."

Dawn let out a slightly exaggerated scoff. "Well, of course I'm nervous… we _do_ live in Sunnydale."

Joyce gave an agreeing shrug at that. "Yes, that does make sense. We do live on the Hellmouth…" She suddenly turned angry. "…which is why I cannot believe your sister would leave you home alone!"

Dawn fidgeted and shifted. She had to hopefully get her mom to bed fast. She just happened to look up and barely stifled a gasp. Why the Hell was Bumblebee looking in their living room window?!

"I know!" She quickly moved down the stairs and past her mother. "I can't even look out the window at night without getting the willies…" She went to the window and gave a glare at Bumblebee, mouthing "Get lost!" at the robot before roughly shutting the blinds.

She turned back to her mom with a bright smile but it quickly slipped off of her face. Her Mom was leaning against the banister, holding her head and moaning slightly.

"Mom!"

She rushed to her side and guided her to the couch. "You must've overdone it today…"

"No, really… I'm fine honey." Joyce tried to reassure her daughter. "I'm just tired…"

Dawn was unconvinced. "Mom…"

"I'm fine." Her mother insisted firmly and sounding more than a little aggravated. "I just need to lie down…" She moved to stand and Dawn helped her to her feet.

"That's a good idea…" She said gently. "You should lie down… and I'll finish the dishes and-" She stopped when her mother was looking at her suspiciously. "What?"

"You never offer to do the dishes…" Her mother said, narrowing her eyes. "All right…", she folded her arms over her chest, giving Dawn the dreaded "Mom" stare, "…what's going on here, young lady?"

_Shit!_

"Mom… I don't know what you're talking about…?" Dawn really was a horrible liar.

Joyce refused to back down. She knew when her children weren't telling the truth, especially Dawn. Buffy was a practiced liar, Dawn was like an opened book. She knew she was up to something. The concern for her health was believable but when she offered to do housework something was definitely up.

Grasping the girl's chin in her hand, she forced her to look her in the eyes.

"Dawn Summers you tell me what is going on right now."

"Mom… really…" Dawn squeaked. "What makes you think something's going on…?"

As those words left her mouth, Dawn wished they hadn't. You never, ever answer a question with a question! That was rule number one in the Liar's Handbook!

"Did you have a boy over?" Her Mom asked firmly.

_Erm, yeah…and a girl, and four alien robots… but at least I didn't let a vamp into the house… again… not that you need to know about that either._

Dawn opened her mouth to answer but Joyce saw the hesitance on her daughter's face and quickly made her way up the stairs. Holding in a whimper, Dawn followed her, hoping to keep her away from the windows.

"Mom, please there's nothing up here!" Dawn cried, flanking her mother but her cries went unnoticed as Joyce yanked open the door to her room.

"I don't know what you're up to, young lady but I'm going to…" She stopped when she noticed the dark-haired girl at Dawn's window. "Who are you?"

Mikaela tensed and slowly turned around. She noticed a tree outside the window and had hoped to climb down before her mother had entered. Now, that plan was done for. Well, at least the Autobots were out of view.

"Hi, Mrs. Summers…" she put on her most polite smile. "I'm Mikaela… I'm…" She glanced at Dawn who was behind her mother, looking extremely nervous. "I'm a friend of Dawn's…" She fought to think of a lie. "Dawn… was bored out of her mind and called me over to hang out until you got back…"

"I know how you feel about me having company when no one's home…" Dawn said quickly and her mother turned to look at her. "But… y'know how I get… nervous when I'm… alone… and Buffy had to…" she hesitated, "…work. And Giles is busy with the shop, and Anya's working there and Xander has to make sure Anya doesn't say anything stu-" Joyce held up a hand to cut Dawn off. The girl could talk a mile a minute.

She turned back to the other girl and smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Mikaela." She reached out and shook the girl's hand. "How do you two know each other?" She asked Dawn, relieved she wasn't sneaking boys into her room.

"She goes to the private school and we sometimes hang out... and she helps me with some of the stuff I have problems with" Dawn said smoothly and Mikaela quickly nodded. Hey, she was getting a little better at this lying thing.

"Oh…" She turned to Mikaela. "How old are you, dear?"

"Seventeen." Mikaela answered.

Dawn brightened, relieved that one of the lies she told Buffy wasn't a lie.

_Hey, I was right…_

"What grade are you in?"

"Twelfth…" Mikaela answered. "Dawn wanted me to tutor her in math."

Joyce's brow furrowed and she turned to Dawn. "Dawnie, I thought you excelled in math."

"I do." Dawn said quickly, "…because I have Mikaela tutor me in the harder parts now so when I get to tenth grade it'll be cake." Damn, she was getting good!

"Oh!" Joyce said, this time with pride. "And here I was thinking you were sneaking boys up here…" She laughed lightly, shaking her head. "But, I should've known my little Pumpkin Belly wouldn't do anything like that."

"Mom!" Dawn squealed in embarrassment as Joyce gave her a hug and loud kiss on the forehead. She gave Mikaela an annoyed look as she caught her stifling a laugh.

"Sorry, sorry…" Joyce said and pulled away from Dawn. "I'll stop embarrassing you." She turned to Mikaela. "Would you like a snack, dear?"

Mikaela caught Dawn giving her a nod of encouragement. "Um, sure. Thank you."

Joyce smiled and led Mikaela downstairs, stopping to turn to Dawn. "You coming, sweetie?"

"Erm, just a minute." Dawn said. "I'll be down in a second."

Her mother nodded and continued down the stairs. Dawn waited until she was down the stairs before running to the window. She peered outside for any sign of the robots but couldn't find them. She did however see a Peterbilt truck, a yellow H2 Hummer, a yellow Camero with racing stripes and a familiar Topkick parked along the street, she could see the boy Sam in the Camero.

_Okay… that's a little weird, but not as weird as having to explain four robots._

With a roll of her eyes, slipped her feet into her slippers, left her room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

_I'm an idiot! You NEVER think that!_

Cursing her own stupidity, she went into the kitchen. Mikaela was sitting at the table while her mother pulled a plate from the cupboard.

"You own an art gallery? That is so cool." Mikaela smiled as she sipped her apple juice.

Joyce opened her mouth to reply but stopped. She brought her free hand to her head. "What…" she said, sounding disoriented. She looked up and saw Dawn who was looking concerned.

"Mom?" Dawn asked worriedly.

"Who are you?" She asked in alarm before she collapsed to the tiled floor.

The sound of the plate shattering resounded through the house.

S.S.S.S.S.S

Rina slumped against the wall, extremely tired. She could not believe she performed a teleportation spell of that magnitude. And Glory was most pleased with her. Although, Starscream would have to learn some respect.

"You brought me here…"

His raspy, grating voice caught her attention and she looked up. How someone with a metallic face could look so livid she did not know. But she was not afraid. There was nothing he could do with that barrier between herself and the pissed off mech.

"Yepper." She answered smugly. "I know you can hack into the Internet… look up a little thing called "magic" and "teleportation spells" and it should give you the general idea." She stretched, trying to work the kinks out of her back.

His lone eye dimmed as performed an internet search. It brightened again and he looked at her with shock. "Using nothing but your will and some stones you ripped me from space and brought me here?!"

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that…" She slowly stood up. "You have to be really powerful in the magical arena… My kind is especially gifted." She gave him a smile. "I'm pretty sure you noticed I'm not a human." She let her eyes, the pupils as well as the whites, turn completely black as well as let her lizard-like tale curl from around her waist.

Starscream said nothing but simply ran a scan on her, surprised he was able to through this barrier. While her outward appearance was human, her internal workings were like nothing he had ever seen before. The closest word he could use as an explanation would be reptilian, especially with her scaly tale whipping back and forth. He surfed the net, trying to find her species but unable too. Was she from another planet?

It did not matter where she was from or what she was. He was here by her doing and she would pay. She would pay with her life. He would wait until an opportunity presented itself though. He looked up more information on magic and spells. The barrier was only as strong as the person who cast it, and from the information he gathered one had to be extremely strong to be able to cast such a spell correctly. The barrier would wear out in its own time which could be anywhere from half of a human day to a week, it all depended on how strong the caster was. Or, and he liked this idea much better, the barrier would go down when the caster released it, either by recalling the spell or death.

"Yo, Starry?"

Starscream cycled a sigh and looked down. Glory had returned and had apparently taken to calling him "Starry".

"What?"

The blonde tilted her head to the side in an inquiring gesture. "Can you see me good from up there? Y'know… with the one eye you've got left?" She did not care about the fact that his optic was killing him, she just wanted to make she he could see her.

"Yes…"

"Good, bend down." She smiled.

He did as he was told and bent down so his lone optic was level with her head. She then turned around, her back to him now and placed her hands on her hips.

"Does this make me look fat?"

_What?!_

S.S.S.S.S

"Mom!"

"Oh, my God!"

Both girls rushed to the fallen Joyce, going to their knees beside her. Dawn frantically checked for her pulse, relieved when she found one.

"Oh, thank God…" She breathed in relief.

"W-what happened?" Mikaela asked, alarmed.

"I-I don't know…" Dawn said helplessly. "She's been having really bad headaches for a while now and…" She took a deep breath to collect herself. "We have to get her to the hospital."

Mikaela said nothing but quickly got to her feet, running to the front door, flinging it open. "Ratchet!"

Dawn looked up in surprise. What in the world could the giant mech do?

_This is Ratchet, our medical officer and pain in the aft._

Oh, that's right. He was their medical officer, he could help. She looked down at the unconscious face of her mother.

At least she hoped he could.

Mikaela came back into the kitchen, sliding an arm under Joyce's limp body. "Help me get her outside so he can scan her."

"Scan…what…" Dawn started.

"He can probably figure out what's wrong with her in a minute." Mikaela explained as she hoisted Joyce up. "Now, help me."

Dawn did as she was told, too afraid to ask questions. She lifted her mother up and helped take her outside, using the back door since it was the closest. The girls got her into the backyard and laid her down on the picnic table. After lying her down Mikaela ran to the front and motioned for Ratchet to come to the back. Dawn could make out the sounds of clicks and snaps as the medical officer as well as the others transformed into their true forms.

"What happened?" The yellow bot asked, bending on one knee over the unconscious woman.

"Oh, God! Is she okay?" Sam asked, coming to a stop to stand next to Mikaela.

"She collapsed…" Dawn said shakily. "She was making us snacks and then she looked at me… She didn't know who I was… and then she collapsed."

The medical officer said nothing but proceeded to run a scan over the woman. After he was done, his optics dimmed as he performed an internet search to help him better understand the data he collected.

"She has a brain tumor." He said, addressing Dawn. "Oligodendroglioma, is what it's called from the information I've gathered. It's in the left hemisphere of her cerebrum and from what I can tell-"

He stopped speaking when the young girl let out a gasp of anguish and collapsed to her knees, tears spilling from her eyes. Mikaela was at her side in an instant, helping the girl to stand. She gave a side glare to Ratchet.

_God damn it, Ratchet you could've been a little gentler about it…_

"Ratchet!" Optimus growled at the tactless medic.

The sound of metal clanging against metal rang through air as Bumblebee gave Ratchet a hard punch in the arm.

"Ow!" He glared at the youngling who didn't shrink back, but stared back with a disapproving look, his radio clicking on, choosing an appropriate song by Foreigner.

_You're as cold as ice!_

"Remind me to shoot you later..." Ironhide said gruffly before looking down at the stricken girl. She was a sweet kid, a little annoying and extremely temperamental but sweet none the less. She didn't deserve to hear the news about her mother like that.

Sam slowly lowered himself to the other side of Dawn, gently putting a hand to her shoulder. "Man, you didn't know…?"

Dawn shook her head, voice wavering as she spoke. "She never said anything… I…don't think she even knew…" She sniffled and began to sob uncontrollably, hyperventilating.

"Dawn!" Ratchet's voice made her lift her head. "Calm your breathing or you risk fainting."

As she fought to calm herself, Sam and Mikaela looked at each other over Dawn's head, both sharing the same look. This girl was going through enough already and now they were making her life even harder by bringing this weirdness into it.

Dawn finally controlled her breathing and she slowly got to her feet, pulling herself from the older teen's well-meaning grips. "Take us to the hospital." She lifted her head and looked up at Optimus whom she assumed was their leader. "Please…" Her voice cracked again.

The blue and red Autobot regarded the girl, optics filled with sympathy and nodded. "Of course." He turned to his team. "Ratchet! Take Joyce Summers to the nearest hospital. We'll-"

"No." Dawn's voice cut him off and they all turned to look at her.

"I saw him in car mode… the ambulances here don't look like that. Somebody will suspect something…" She turned and looked up at Ironhide, total helplessness in her eyes. "Will you take us?"

He regarded the girl silently for a moment. Even in the midst of all of this, her mother seriously ill, she thought of them, holding onto her promise not to expose them and managed to be clear-headed in the face of a crisis.

What was that she said when they first met? She was a big klutz and her sister made her feel like crap?

_Your sister needs to get her head out of her aft._

Giving her a nod, he headed back to the street, transforming into his alt mode. Dawn, Sam and Mikaela all helped to move Joyce off of the picnic table, carrying her to the waiting Topkick. Dawn got in first and pulled her mother in with her. Sam and Mikaela both moved to get inside of Bumblebee who had also transformed along with Optimus and Ratchet but Sam stopped and turned to Mikaela.

"Go with her…" he said to his girlfriend. "I don't think she's old enough to pretend to drive a car."

Nodding, Mikaela ran back to Ironhide and got into the driver's door. Sliding in, she waited for Ironhide to find the closest hospital. After a few seconds, he pulled off, the rest following him.

S.S.S.S.S.S

This slagged, plain and simple.

Barricade was currently in his alt form and extremely pissed off. Though it had been months since the battle for the Allspark, he was recovering slowly from his battle with Optimus Prime. How he survived was beyond him. Now, was currently parked in an alley in the seedier parts of Las Vegas, Nevada, looking the entire world like a beat-up Police car.

He knew Megatron was dead, either that or in stasis-lock again. And that meant, he shuddered in disgust at the thought, that Starscream was going to be in command again.

_Fan-fragging-tastic!_

_Click, click, click._

The sound of footsteps going through alley caught his attention. He quickly noticed a female squishy but was not worried. She was probably one of the humans who sold themselves for monetary gain. Being stuck in this form and in this ally meant he saw a lot of those particular transactions take place. Primus, it was revolting, watching some male squishy repeatedly ram himself into a whore's body, the pheromone level constantly rising… It was disgusting!

This squishy did not look like a prostitute. For one, her clothing actually covered everything up. So, she must be an idiot then. He had seen a few of those walked through the ally, using it as a shortcut home only to be violated by a group of men. That was actually pretty entertaining… the violence part at least, the second the pheromones started rising, it went from amusing to just downright nasty.

This woman was holding what looked like a map, and oddly enough there was a small light glowing on a section of the paper. She looked up, directly at him and smirked.

"Hi, there , N.B.E three!"

N.B.E Three? That was what those human morons labeled him, that group Sector Seven. She was obviously a part of that group. Okay, time for killing. He couldn't do much but it was just one squishy. It shouldn't be too hard.

He gunned his engine and shot forward, trying to run her over but she flipped out of the way, gripping on to the fire escape of one of the buildings, pulling herself up. She looked down at him and gave him a haughty smile that pissed him off to no end. Well, with her up there, he couldn't run her over…

Shelly rolled her eyes as the beat up Saleen turned into a dented up Cybertronian. Ordinarily, she knew she was no match against the Decepticon, but in his current state, it shouldn't be much of a problem.

He swung out his hand, intending to grip her and snap her like a twig but she quickly flipped out of the way with speed too fast to be human.

"Oh, come on! Don't be like that. I just wanna talk…" She whined in a fake disappointed voice.

He said nothing, only swiped at her again, this time bringing out that swinging blade thing. Her eyes widened slightly but she dodged easily enough until she grew tired of the game.

Her eyes went all black and she whipped out her tongue, stretching it until it wrapped around his ankle, tripping him to the ground. The Decepticon let out a cry that was more of shock than pain when he hit the ground. She leapt and landed on his face, hissing into his optics, baring her now razor-sharp teeth.

"_Constrictum_." Her voice was now raspy and menacing.

Barricade cycled a gasp. He couldn't move his arms, legs or anything. He focused on the girl that straddled the middle of his face.

"What the frag did you do?!"

"Just a little binding spell." She smirked. "You kept on attacking me, I had to do something…" She gave him a disapproving frown. "You know, it's really rude to try and kill a girl when all she wants to do is talk…" She folded her legs underneath her and rested her elbows on her knees. "Go ahead, scan me. You can probably guess I'm not human."

He scanned her, surprised at his discovery. She looked human but her internal workings were like that of reptiles. And considering what she did to him with her tongue, he wanted to shiver in disgust as he thought of the wet, warm, squishy thing on his ankle, she was part amphibian as well.

"What are you?!" He demanded.

"Nythislan demon." She replied, watching his optics dim. "Don't bother, you won't find anything on me… well, probably a lot on the word demon, but not Nythislan." She gave a light shrug. "Let's just say I'm not from around here."

"Another planet?" He demanded and she shook her head. "Erm, it's a bit more complicated than that, dude." She stopped talking and he watched as she got a far-away look in her obsidian eyes and gripped her head. When she stopped, she regarded him again with a smile.

"Well, that's gotta suck…" She giggled. "Getting your ass handed to you by the goody-goody Autobot leader."

"Not as much as this "sucks" squishy!" He growled, venom in every word.

"Well…" she leaned forward, her voice going lower, "…I can make it not suck." She smirked. "I kind of like the position I have you in…"

His face contorted into an expression of pure revulsion. "I will not interface with you, squishy!"

The girl giggled. "Wow, that's a nice assumption. My, aren't we self-absorbed?" She leaned back again. "You're a little too big and metal for my tastes anyway. And I don't think you have the right equipment..."

"What do you want?" He growled.

S.S.S.S.S

"So…you called your sister?"

The three teens were now at Sunnydale hospital. Her mother had been rushed to the emergency room and they were now sitting in the waiting room. The two older teens could not bring themselves to leave Dawn alone. Bumblebee and Ironhide were currently parked in the lot while Optimus as well as Ratchet were a little ways away…again.

Dawn looked up from her lap and turned to face the older boy. "Yeah… well, she's…working… and I left a message on her cell as well as other places."

Sam nodded and the awkward silence resumed. He glanced over Dawn's head at Mikaela, who was studying her own lap. He knew what she was thinking. They should not be here. This girl had enough going on in her life right now without bringing this into it.

"I'm sorry, Dawn." Sam said at last, causing both her as well as Mikaela to look up.

"It's okay…" Dawn said softly. "It's not like you gave my Mom a brain tumor…" Fresh tears spilled from her eyes after the words left her mouth. Dear God, her mother had a tumor!

"No, but…You have enough going on right now and… we're just messing things up even more…" the boy said, sounding more than a little guilty.

"We're really sorry…" Mikaela said and slid a comforting arm around the younger girls shoulder.

Dawn was saved from having to respond by the hospital doors bursting open. She looked up in surprise when Buffy came through the doors followed by Willow, Xander, Tara, Anya and Giles.

"Dawn!" Buffy cried, rushing forward and pulling the girl into a hug. "Are you okay? How's Mom?"

_She has a brain tumor_

Biting her lip to hold in the sobs, Dawn shook in her sister's embrace as Ratchet's words came back to her.

Buffy pulled back and looked at her sister, feeling dread creep through every part of her body. If something was wrong with their mother… "Dawn…?"

"Dawnie, honey?" Willow asked softly, "What's wrong…?"

Dawn took a deep breath. She couldn't bring herself to say it. She wanted to but she couldn't. She glanced at Mikaela and then Sam. Besides, Buffy would want to know how she knew and she couldn't say anything about the aliens.

"No one's said anything yet…" she said softly. "And that freaks me out." It wasn't really a lie, the doctors hadn't said anything yet.

Buffy sighed in relief and then stopped when she noticed the girl next to her. "Mikaela, what are you doing here?"

Mikaela looked up at the short blonde. "Oh, I…"

"Mikaela was over when it happened. She drove me and mom to the hospital." Dawn said softly, still staring at her lap. She made a slight gesture to Sam. "This is our friend Sam… he came for moral support." It was surprising how easy it was to lie when your entire world was crashing down around you.

Sam gave a slight wave and both he and the former car thief nodded, confirming Dawn's false words.

Buffy gave Mikaela a tearful smile and the shocked the younger girl by giving her a hug. "Thank you."

The brunette swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat and hugged the older girl back. "Don't worry about it…" her voiced cracked.

"Buffy…" Willow said softly. "Come on, let's sit down... Dawnie's obviously in good hands..."

Letting the younger girl go, Buffy stood, giving Sam a thankful smile and moved to sit with her friend.

"Dawn..."

The young girl looked up to see the regretful face of Tara. The timid girl sat back on her ankles saw she could be level with Dawn.

"I'm...really sorry about yesterday." Tara spoke softly, taking one of Dawn's limp hands. "I shouldn't have said that..."

The younger girl gave a half shrug. "It's okay...I'm not mad anymore..."

Actually she was, just not at Tara. She was pissed at this whole situation. Couldn't she just have a normal life?! All she wanted was to go to school, make friends, and date a cute guy then when it was over with go to college and major in dance regardless of what others said about her choice of major. She wanted to have a sister who was normal, not some Chosen One protector of the world! She wanted her mother to not have brain tumor! And she wanted to not be stuck on some freaking Hellmouth where everything weird happens from vampires to government weirdoes working on demons and apparently giant alien robots wanting her for God knows what!

She lifted her head and looked over at Buffy who was being comforted by Willow. The red-headed witch was telling Buffy that everything would be fine. No, the Hell it wouldn't! Their mother had a brain tumor for Christ's sake!

God, how she just wanted to stand up, tell Buffy what was really wrong with their mother. She wanted to just get up and tell her everything, including how she knew so she wouldn't bare this burden anymore.

But then she stopped and glanced at Mikaela who was still rubbing her shoulder gently. She couldn't do that. She couldn't rat them all out, especially since neither one of them had to be here with her. She had told them both that they could go after they dropped her off, but they insisted on staying with her.

And the Autobots...

Her lips tilted upwards in a slight smile when she thought of them. They were all so nice. Optimus was extremely kind and compassionate, putting whatever he needed with her aside to help her and her mother... and he was such a big spaz, it was adorable.

Bumblebee was the cutest thing she had ever seen! He was so playful that he actually made her feel at ease.

Ratchet... even if he was a little short on tact she couldn't bring herself to resent him for giving it to her straight. That's all she's ever wanted, for someone to not sugar-coat things or treats her like a baby.

And Ironhide...

Her blood did that weird thing it always did at the thought of the bulky giant. There was something about him, she didn't know what it was, but being around him made her feel different. Also, he gave her the confidence to stand up for herself... It was weird, Lisa told her to not take Buffy's crap all the time, but when he told her it was like a part of herself that she didn't know existed came to life, a part that refused to take any crap from anyone.

And that was why she stayed glued to her seat, determined to keep her mouth shut. She would not betray them. In fact, she would help them right now.

"Mikaela, Sam... Come on."

She pulled herself up and headed out of the waiting room, the two older teens following.

Buffy was about to get up and go after her but stopped when she noticed the doctor coming towards her. She cast an uneasy glance in the direction that Dawn went before going to meet the doctor.

--

"What is it?" Sam asked once they reached the food court.

"What do they want with me?" Dawn asked bluntly. "Why are they here?"

The older boy and girl looked at each other before Sam sighed.

"Okay, let's sit first, all right?"

S.S.S.S.S.S

"I can fix you." She stated simply. When he said nothing but just looked at her with what she guessed was an unbelieving look, she continued. "I can. Notice how I bound you with nothing but a word? I can fix you, make all nice and shiny and… not-dented up and crusty."

_Crusty?! Fragging squishy…what was the human word for one like her…oh, right… bitch!_

"Lying fleshling filth…" He growled and she sighed.

"Okie dokey…" She closed her eyes. "Vigoratus."

He barely had time to look up that word when a strange sensation filled his body. He gasped as he felt his systems healing at a speed faster than normal. Everything was coming together, circuits fixed themselves, metal regenerated, wires reconnected. It took all of thirty seconds and he was as good as new!

He still couldn't move though… Oh, yeah… that whole binding thing she did.

He regarded the girl with new respect though he would never admit it. Not even the best of Cybertronian medics healed anyone at this speed. What the Pit was she?

"How…" he started.

"Look up the word "sorceress" and it'll give you a general idea."

He did so and blinked in confusion. Humans could actually do such things? But, then again this girl wasn't a human. And she would not have helped him if she didn't want something in return. She said she was a demon and considering the information he had picked up on demons, which he still couldn't really believe existed, they were conniving beings of evil that were not to be trusted. But then again…wasn't Megatron the same way?

"What do you want?" He asked again, although without as much venom as before.

"Just to help you out…" She stopped and got that faraway look in her eyes. "Ooh, that must've sucked huh? Having to listen to that coward, Starscream?"

How the slag did she know about- Oh, demon… they were filled with all sorts of tricks.

"You only put up with his shit so you could bring back Megatron… and now that he's dead…" she stopped. "Yeah, he's dead… the kid shoved the Allspark thingie into his chest."

Why did this not surprise him at all?

He said nothing and waited for her to continue. "And… now you'll have to put up with Starscream's leadership… again." She let out a false hiss of pain. "Man, does that gotta blow…"

He did not miss the tone in her voice, the tone that said "I can get you out of this mess if you just help me with something".

"Y'know…" she said thoughtfully, pressing a clawed finger to her lips. "I can help you with that…"

S.S.S.S.S.S.S

"Buffy, any news?"

Buffy had finished speaking with the doctor and was now heading back towards her friends. Xander noticed the defeated way the Slayer was walking toward the group and was immediately scared. Joyce was like the mother he had always wanted. If something happened to her...

"Come on, Buffster, what is it?" He asked, wrapping an arm around the short blonde.

"They... want to keep her overnight..." Buffy said slowly. "They want to keep her overnight for more tests... she's still unconscious... and we can't see her right now."

"Oh Buffy..." Willow wrapped her arms around the defeated girl. "Hey, we'll come back with you!" The perky witch exclaimed. "We'll stay the night if you want."

"Yes, we will be happy to be your support group." Anya said bluntly but well-meaning.

The Slayer smiled lightly at her friends. "I'd like that... Let me go get Dawn first."

Willow looked up. "Oh, there she is."

Dawn, Sam and Mikaela had reemerged, the youngest of the three wearing a disbelieving look on her face, as if she had just been told something she couldn't understand. No one thought much of it at first, she had been through a lot.

"Dawn, honey..." Buffy said gently. "Mom's going... to stay overnight so the doctors can run some tests."

Fighting the urge to bursts into tears, Dawn just gave her sister a nod. "Oh..."

"But, don't worry." Buffy said quickly. "I'm sure it's nothing."

_Just a tumor in the left side of her brain._

Dawn stayed silent, keeping the thoughts to herself.

"And everyone's coming back to the house, to you know, keep us company, moral support."Buffy finished and Xander came forward and but an arm around Dawn.

"Yep, it's Xander and his Harem of Helpers to the rescue."

"He is only joking." Anya said. "We aren't a real harem, I'm the only one he's having sex with." Anya stated.

The rest of the Scoobies sighed while Dawn giggled, glad to have the tension lightened by Anya's tactlessness. She giggled even more at the "Is she for real?" looks on Sam and Mikaela's faces.

_Oh, crap... what about those two? They said they wanted Ratchet to scan... __man that__ sounds creepy, scan me __for some weird green energy __but they didn't mention having anywhere to stay. I can't let them bunk in the robots, especially on the Hellmouth!_

"Buffy, can Sam and Mikaela stay too?" She asked her sister hopefully.

The older teens looked at each other and then at Dawn. Was she serious?!

Buffy glanced between the three teens and sighed. Dawn needed as much distraction as she could get... just as long as she and Mikaela didn't screw.

"Sure, it's fine." Buffy said and gave Dawn the "you'd better not have sex" look.

S.S.S.S.S

Within the following two hours Dawn had found herself once again in her room. She had left the hospital in Xander's car while Sam and Mikaela drove off in Bumblebee and Ironhide to "get" their clothes when they actually just drove to meet up with Optimus and Ratchet to report what had happened, letting the other bots know that Dawn was aware of the problem.

Giles had stayed for a bit and Dawn had caught the two of them whispering about something. She had heard her name come up a couple of times and it worried her, especially when they stopped talking when Willow came into the room. If they didn't want a bonafide Scooby like Willow to know something was up then it must be bad.

Giles had then left, claiming he felt like a chaperone at a slumber party. The Scoobies were all in Buffy's room, they had chatted most of the night, about what, Dawn didn't know. She assumed it was about that woman who handed Buffy's ass to her last night.

Dawn was now seated on the floor on top of her sleeping bag, wide awake. The older teens were curled up on her bed, now in pajamas, asleep. She had graciously given her bed to Sam and Mikaela. The two had insisted the floor would fine, or at least Mikaela could share the bed with Dawn but the younger girl insisted, stating that her mother would never let her live it down if she knew she let company sleep on the floor. They didn't argue after that.

She found out the two were actually dating. She giggled to herself as she recalled the amusing moment that followed.

"You two are together?" Dawn had asked.

"Yeah..." Mikaela nodded.

"Oh..." She looked up at Sam and gave a half smile. "Sorry I stole your girl."

"You just take good care of her." Sam said with a false sniffle, trying to lighten Dawn's mood. She giggled, it was working.

"Y'know it's kind of weird sleeping in a girl's room..." Sam had said as he moved a stuffed raccoon from underneath his head.

"Not the "you, me and another girl" scenario you were hoping for, huh?" Mikaela joked and Dawn giggled.

A knock on the door had caught all of their attention.

"Yeah?" Dawn asked.

"Dawnie, where's Mikaela sleeping?" Buffy had asked, slightly nervous from outside.

Dawn chuckled, glad to have something take her mind off of her mother's condition. "On my bed with her head on my bunnies."

Sam covered his face with the raccoon to stifle the cackles that would've erupted from his throat.

"What?!" Buffy gasped and at the same moment Anya let out a frightened gasp at the word "bunnies."

Buffy opened the door, intent on giving her a "no sex" lecture but stopped when she saw Dawn seated on her sleeping bag and Mikaela on the bed, head nestled on Dawn's stuffed rabbit, snickering.

"I hate you." Buffy said simply at Dawn's amused grin.

"Bye, Buffy." Dawn waved as her sister left the room.

The young girl giggled at the memory but then stopped. Her mind flashed back to her mother's condition. What was she going to do? Would she get better? Would she get worse? Would she...

Dawn rolled over on her side and sniffled. She wouldn't cry. She was tried of being the baby everyone made her out to be. Her sister fought monsters everyday, saved the world over a dozen times! She could suck this up and deal. She could handle a little thing like... her mother probably dying.

"Oh, God!" She whispered into her pillow and quietly sobbed.

"Dawn..." a familiar gruff voice said from her window.

Quickly wiping away the evidence of her crying with her blanket, the grief stricken teenager ran to her window. "What are you doing, Ironhide?" She whispered fiercely. "What if someone's awake? Go back to the driveway!"

"I scanned the house, all of the humans are in recharge...except for you." His optics studied her.

"Okay... I'm guessing recharge is robot speak for sleep?" She asked, arching her brows.

"Yes."

"Oh... so, what is it?" She asked, growing a little uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

"I was... concerned about you." He said quietly.

She smiled softly at his kind words. "I'll be all right..." Although she wasn't so sure of that herself.

"Hmm." He turned to go back to the driveway but stopped. "On more thing..."

"Hmm?"

"What was that you told me last night? Your sister made you feel inferior?"

Dawn sighed. "Well, it's not just her, it's all of her friends but I know they don't mean to. They make everything all about her and just forget about me, like I'm not important. Just a stupid kid who gets in the way, breaks stuff and doesn't have anything important to say..." She gave a sad shrug.

"I see..." he was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Well, they're idiots."

Dawn's head snapped up in surprise. "What?"

"They are idiots. No "stupid little kid" would be able to handle what you've gone through today as well as you did. You found out your mother is ill, and instead of telling your sister, or anyone else, you keep it to yourself so you won't raise suspicion, keeping true to your word to keep our existence to yourself. You've proven yourself to be cunning, honorable, capable and strong-willed, not a stupid kid who gets in the way."

Fresh tears welled up in Dawn's eyes at his words and this time she let them fall freely.

Ironhide's optic's widened at the girl's reaction. "Did... I say the wrong thing?"

"No..." she giggled at his worried expression and sniffled. "These are happy/touched tears" She took a deep breath and gave the mech a shaky smile. "That was the perfect thing to say."

The giant bot gave the girl a both confused and relieved smile and reached out a hand, gently tapping her on the head with a finger. "Go recharge, Dawn."

She nodded and turned to go back to her sleeping bag but then stopped. "Hey, c'mere a sec."

The mech reappeared at her window, leaning forward to get a good look at her. "Yes?"

He blinked as she hopped onto the window sill on her knees, bracing herself with one hand. He opened his hand, prepared to catch her if she fell. What in the name of Primus was she doing?

She leaned forward, hesitantly placing one foot on his outstretched hand to steady herself and kissed him square on the nose.

Azure optics widened in confused surprise at the girl and she giggled, happily climbing back into her window, crawling into her sleeping bag.

"G'night!" She whispered and closed her eyes.

The mech regarded the girl for a moment before transforming back into his alt form, parked next to Bumblebee in the Summers's driveway.

Bee's radio came to life and a song silently played, audible only to the two of them.

_You can try to resist, try to hide from my kiss..._

Ironhide wanted to throttle the youngling, but opted on yelling at him over the now closed com link.

"Kid, shut up!"

Yeow! My longest chapter to date! Yes, I wanted to add a fuzzy moment between 'Hide and Dawnie... erm... how'd I do?


	12. Daybreak

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers the live action movie nor do I own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They both belong to people who are much more talented than I am.

A/N: Okay, first off I apologize for the long wait. Illness, drama and such has kept me away from the computer and I was unable to write. Also, I had a big case of writer's block. However, it seems to have dissipated so back to the fun, hmm?

Chapter 12

Gasping and shuddering, falling to the ground, Ben grasped at the cold floor as Glory was forced back into his body and he was allowed back out.

"Shit…" he muttered.

He stood up and glanced around. He was apparently in warehouse. This was confusing. What was even more confusing was that all of the furniture was here. And since when did a warehouse have plush carpeting?

"What the Hell…?"

He glanced down at himself and rolled his eyes. Great, yet another damn dress. He grunted in annoyance and rummaged through a few boxes until he pulled out a pair of scrubs, yanking them on. He had an early shift at the hospital today. He was placed in the mental ward this time. He fought down a wave of resentment. Apparently his dear sister was going overtime with the snacking.

"Oh, Sir. You're here."

Ben rolled his eyes as Jinx came forward. "Why are we in a warehouse? And why is all of the stuff here?" He looked up to see a young blonde woman curled up on the couch. "And who's that?"

Jinx looked around briefly. "Oh, her eminence ordered that everything be moved here so she could watch over her newest tool." The minion gestured to the blonde on the couch. "That is Rinacora… a very strong, skilled…" his voice took on an aroused tone, "…sexy…Nythislan demon."

Ben arched his dark brows. "Jinx, as if you had a chance in Hell. She's all right, but not that cute by human standards but you're just gross, you little scab." He ignored Jinx's offended gasp. "And she's a Nythislan? Hear to help Glory."

Jinx shrugged. "You know how the Nythislans love her."

The medical intern rolled her eyes and made his way to the door but stopped short. "What the friggin' Hell is that?!"

Starscream groaned slightly in annoyance. He was peacefully in recharge when the sound of an organic male woke him up. He scanned the building and found a male human staring up at him in awe. He scanned the boy to make sure he was human and found he was correct.

"What are you looking at, Squishy?" Starscream hissed and the boy jumped back. He ignored the human and reached forward, dismayed to find the barrier was still firmly in place.

"That would be Starscream." Jinx told the young male. "Rinacora brought him here. He's a…" he glanced behind him at the Nythislan who was beginning to wake up. "Rinacora?"

"Just Rina…" she muttered. "And it's a Cybertronian and…" she jolted awake and focused on Ben. "Who's this?"

"This is Ben…" Jinx said and Starscream could swear there was something hidden in the way he said that.

Rina looked at Ben for a moment and smiled. "Ah… I've heard so much about you, Ben." She gave him a smile. "Ooh, and you're cute too."

"What is that thing?" The intern asked, ignoring her flirting.

"Geez, all work and no play." Rina huffed and shrugged. "Cybertronian. His name's Starscream. He's an alien and he's older than the planet but not Glory. His world want kaput. He came down, started some big thing in Mission City, his boss is dead, he escaped, I zapped him here and gave him to Glory. That explain it?" She got up and grabbed a green backpack. "I'm taking a shower."

Ben glanced at the towering being in the corner. His red eye was focused on Rina and if looks could kill, she would be a pile of ashes. He turned back to Rina who was gathering a green bag.

"I'm taking a shower." She declared.

"Warehouses don't have showers." Ben protested as she headed to a separate room.

"This one does."

"You magicked one up?"

"Nah, threatened some plumbers and contractors last night… they built it then Glory needed fuel."

The young man sighed. That meant crazy plumbers and contractors were going to be coming in the mental ward soon. He gave the towering robot an uneasy glance and headed outside. Good grief, they even brought his car. He got inside and with another sigh he started the engine and made his way to Sunnydale hospital.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Why are we here, demon?"

Shelly sighed as she pulled up in front of an apartment building, glaring at the Saleen behind her. She had persuaded the Decepticon to help her in exchange for her own services. After making a deal, which would only be sealed if she delivered on a certain part as proof that she was wasn't, as Barricade put it, "full of slag." So, she had released him from the binding field and the two drove to Sunnydale. It took them four hours to get here, but they made it just before daybreak.

"Pull into the alley." She instructed as she backed her own car into the alley. He reluctantly did as he was told and she got out of the car.

"We're here to visit my grandpa." She explained, keeping her voice level. "He's the one who can help me out with Phase One." She leapt onto the hood of her car, grabbed the fire escape and with a few leaps she was inside the apartment.

Barricade pulled into the alley, directly underneath the window she went through. This whole thing still sounded impossible, but she said she could do it.

_She better or I'll kill her where she stands._

Inside the apartment, Shelly gingerly stepped over various books and papers, wrinkling her nose at the smell of the elderly that seemed to waft through apartment.

"Grandpa?" She called.

"Shelikendra?" A soft male voice asked and she span around, huge smile on her face.

"Grandpa!" She ran and gave the small, elderly man a huge hug.

The old man hugged her back gently. "Shelikendra, it's so good to se you!" He pulled back to look at her, adjusting his glasses. "How've you been? Is your sister hear with you?"

Shelly rolled her eyes. "Oh, her… we're not talking."

The old man tilted his head to the side in an inquiring manner. "Why not? Boy trouble?"

The demon girl shook her head. "Nah. She challenged me. Whoever wins Glorifcos's favor gets to kill the loser."

The aging man sighed. "You two…" he shook his head and then stopped. "Wait, Glorificos is here?"

"Mm-hmm!" The girl nodded happily. "She's here… she was banished as you know and she's now looking for the Key to go back to her realm. But, there's a bit of a problem, the Slayer has the Key… I think… I know she has something to do with it."

Sighing, the elderly man sat down. "That is a bit of a problem… The Slayer is extremely strong and-" he stopped and looked out the window curiously. "Shells, what's that?"

"Hmm?" She glanced behind her and jumped when she saw Barricade peering through the window, impatience on every inch of his metallic face.

"Dude!" She growled. "Chill!"

"I'm growing impatient with you, demon!" The Decepticon growled.

"I can see that, botty!" She snapped back.

"Is this your new boyfriend?" Her grandfather asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Is he treating you better than that Slod demon you were dating back in the forties?"

"Grandpa! EW!" Shelly shrieked.

"What?!" Barricade yelled indignantly. "Disgusting!"

"Grandpa… he's my ally, that's all… Remember all that stuff I told you about my work in Nevada even though I wasn't supposed to tell you?"

The man thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, yeah… You were working with alien robots or something, right? And there was some big thing in Mission City" He glanced back at the window. "You're Starscream, right?"

Barricade wanted to blow up the demon man right then and there. He snarled in disgust. "Squishy, the Pit?! I am no coward!"

"That's Barricade." She said pointing at the window. "Barricade, this is my grandpa, you can call him Doc." She turned back to her grandfather. "We thought he was dead. Starscream's the one who got away. He's the resident pussy of the Decepticons, the baddy robots." She explained and Doc glared at her.

"Watch your language, young lady." The elder demon said sternly and she sighed.

"Sorry…" She straightened. "We're here because we need your help. It has to do with aiding Glorificos."

He sighed. "I really don't want to get in the middle of death matches between my two favorite girls…" She pouted at him and he smiled. "But then again, how can I resist that face?" He stood up. "What do you need?"

A slow smile that promised nothing but evil spread across her face and she let her eyes go black.

"Just for you to show me a little trick."

S.S.S.S.S

"Mikaela, wake up."

The brunette groaned in her sleep as she was being gently shaken. Her eyes opened and she squinted as the sun shown in her eyes. She turned to see Sam who was shaking her arm.

"What?" She asked sleepily, stretching to get the kinks out of her back. Good God, this was the best bed she had ever slept on in her life! She glanced at the pink clock on Dawn's dresser. It was two thirty in the morning. Why was Sam waking her up now?

"I just checked and it sounded like all of Buffy's friends are asleep." He sat down on the edge of the bed.

And why was he waking her up again? "Okay…"

"I think… that maybe we should get this whole thing over with now." Sam said. "Y'know, that way we can get out of her hair. I mean, come on, her mom's sick and she obviously doesn't need us screwing her life up anymore already by bringing alien drama into it."

Mikaela sat up and sighed at his words. He did have a point. "Good point…" she agreed. "But… she's been through enough…"

A soft yawn cut her off and both teens turned to look at Dawn. The young girl was now stretching on her sleeping bag, moving to sit up.

"Dawn, did we wake you up?" Sam asked and she shook her head.

"Nah… belly rumblings." She muttered and her stomach confirmed this with a loud growl. She got to her feet and went to the door. "I'm getting something to eat. You guys want?"

Mikaela was about to say something but her stomach as well as Sam's answered for them.

"Yeah, sure…" Sam said, following Dawn. "Just let me use the bathroom first."

Dawn nodded and directed Sam to the bathroom then led Mikaela back to the kitchen.

"So, what were you guys doing up so early?" Dawn asked as she pulled a frozen pizza from the fridge. Her mind kept drifting back to her mother and she was desperately trying to find anything to distract her from the awful events that had taken place just before.

"Talking…" Mikaela said, wringing her hands together. Boy, she really didn't want to bother her anymore. She was already being so nice, letting her and Sam stay her with two Autobots parked in her driveway. She should let the girl get her rest and then deal with this crap in the morning.

However, she knew that sooner or later one of the bots would come, wanting to get this over with. God, did they ever need a lesson on patience.

"About…?" Dawn prompted as she placed the pizza in the oven. She glanced over her shoulder with a half smile "If it was dirty talk then don't tell me." Then she stopped. "No, scratch that. Tell me everything."

Mikaela snickered and leaned back in her chair. "Sorry to disappoint you, pervert, but we weren't talking dirty."

"Oh…" Dawn fake pouted. "Then, what about… or is it not my business?"

The older girl sighed. "We were wondering… if maybe you wanted to go get scanned… now."

Dawn's brows rose. "Now?"

"Yeah… while you're sister and her friends are asleep…"

Dawn hesitated. The whole idea of a robot scanning her was just too creepy for words! But she did promise and it was daylight and Buffy was still asleep. She would be asleep until probably nine o'clock.

"But, where will we even go and-"

"Ironhide told me about that place where you guys met before. It sounds good enough, and I noticed a lot of woods on the way here…"

"All right, fine." Dawn sighed. "We'll go now…"

"So, what's up?"

Both girls looked up to see Sam standing in the doorway. "We headed out or what?" Dawn gave the boy a nod.

"Yeah, let's just grab a few slices of pizza and then we'll go."

"Okay, but no eating in Bumblebee. "Sam said as they made their way upstairs. "Crumbs make him itch."

S.S.S.S.S

"Okay… I have this, this and…" Shelly stopped and glanced around. "Oh! This!" She placed an item in the center of the circle she sat in. She looked up at her grandfather. "So, I just say this spell and it will do it? No screw ups?"

"Yes, and considering the subject is… Y'know, it should go well." Doc gave her an encouraging smile. "I'll just be over here." He moved to the window where Barricade stood, watching intently.

"This will work?' The Saleen asked and the old man nodded.

"Oh yes, My Shells isn't some little two-bit amateur, she's a full fledged sorceress. Now, we have to be quiet or it'll break her concentration."

Shelly took a deep breath and began chanting. After a moment the ceiling rippled and something came through in a flash of light. She looked down at the object near her knees.

"Okay… that was the easy part… Now for the hard part…" She glanced at the window. "Barricade, get me a rat."

The Decepticon blinked in confusion and disgust. "What?!"

"You're in an alley, there should be a bunch of them." She rolled her eyes at the revolted and insulted look on his face. "C'mon, it's for the spell! I need something alive…"

With an irritated snarl, Barricade disappeared from the window only to reappear and chuck toddler through the window. The child landed with a shriek in front of Shelly. It was a little redheaded girl in a pair of pink pajamas. He had snatched the little girl out of her room which was right next to the demon's apartment.

"Will that do?" The Saleen asked annoyed.

"I want my Mommy…" the girl whimpered, scared to death of the huge monster at the window. She looked at the old man at the window and the lady in front of her with pleading brown eyes. "Please help me…" Her bottom lip quivered.

"You did not answer me." Barricade snapped and the girl cried even harder. "I said will that do?"

Shelly regarded the girl with raised brows. A small life would have been sufficient but a small human was even better. "Yeah…" She retrieved a blade from the small of her back and quickly stabbed the child through the throat, she didn't even get a chance to scream. With unblinking eyes, Shelly retrieved a bowl from her left and collected her blood as it pour from the wound.

"Yeah, this'll work just fine."

Barricade's optics widened a bit. Yes, he did enjoy violence and that was beyond entertaining. He glanced at the old man who gave Shelly a disapproving glare.

"Shelikendra…"

"I'll pay for the cleaning bill." She said without looking up.

"Just as long as we're clear." Doc said with a small smile. "I'm going to make you some coffee and biscuits."

"Make sure it's with Hazelnut cream and sugar, Grandpa." She called as he left for the kitchen. She glanced at Barricade and smiled. "Having fun?"

He gave her a slight smirk. "Now I am."

S.S.S.S.S

"So… nervous?" Sam asked as Bumblebee turned a corner.

"Huh??" Dawn jumped, wide eyed in the backseat.

The three of them were currently inside of Bumblebee, making their way to Kingman's Bluff. Ironhide was in front of them, leading them to the place and Ratchet and Optimus were behind them.

The three had snuck out of Dawn's house after their discussion in the kitchen. They had all piled into Bumblebee only the youngling and noticed the smile she gave to the Topkick as he pulled out of the driveway. Mikaela and Sam only noticed how nervous she appeared while they were outside.

"I asked if you were nervous." Sam repeated.

Dawn shook her head from the backseat, although she was inwardly shaking like a leaf. Mikaela glanced back and gave her an encouraging smile.

"I'm sure it'll be okay…" The older girl said and Dawn gave her the infamous "Yeah, right" expression.

"You told me I was connected to Ironhide through some weird energy that probably hit me. How's that okay again?"

Mikaela sighed and gave up. She had a point.

"I mean… I don't remember getting hit by anything but… who knows." Dawn sighed. "Weird crap happens around here like you wouldn't believe…" she leaned back and contented herself to looking out at the passing scenery, not realizing she was speaking out loud. "Demons, vamps… crazed hyena people…"

"What?!" Bumblebee's disembodied voice came through the speakers and she jolted.

"Erm… don't worry about it."

Sam and Mikaela glanced back at her and then looked at each other. It was probably nothing. This was a really small town and small towns were full of urban legends.

Why didn't that calm that sinking feeling they both had at the pits of their stomachs?

S.S.S.S.S

Buffy awoke early that morning as the rays from the sun hit her in the face. Yawning, she sat up and stretched, glancing around at her friends who were sprawled all over her room. She smiled gently. Her friends really were great. Last night was just what she needed.

Getting up and leaving her room, she went to Dawn's room and gently knocked. "Dawnie? Mikaela? Sam?"

She still couldn't believe that she let a boy sleep in her sister's room. Mom would hit the roof if she found out. However, considering Dawn only had eyes for the tall brunette bombshell their mother didn't have to worry about Dawn getting pregnant any time soon.

"Dawnie? You still sleeping?"

Easing the door open, she peeked in. Her eyes widened at the empty room. Not even the little bugged out Chihuahua was here. She ran to the window and gasped. The cars were gone too. They must've went out or something. She was initially nervous but tried not to panic. It was Sunday morning, and her mother was in the hospital. They probably wanted to get an early jump on visiting hours. Either that or they went out for breakfast.

"Buffy? Where's Dawn?"

The Slayer turned around to see Tara in the doorway in her pajamas. "Oh… um…I'm guessing her friends took her somewhere…" She said uneasily.

"Oh." Tara nodded. "Did… did you want us to go with you to the hospital?"

The shorter girl nodded. "That'd be great. You guys are like family. " She noticed Tara look away slightly. "That includes you too, Tara."

The shy witch looked up and smiled gently. "Thank you, Buffy."

Buffy smiled back and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Dawn was fine. She was with her friends and that demon bitch didn't know a thing about her.

"Come on, let's get everybody ready. I think Dawn's probably at the hospital. You know she'd be the first one there if she could drive… Now, she's got people to drive her."

Tara smiled and nodded. "Everyone's already getting ready. We figured we'd get breakfast on the way back so we can get there as soon as possible… if that's okay with you?"

The Slayer nodded. "That's perfect. Just let me get ready."

S.S.S.S.S.S

"I'm glad you decided to do this now, Dawn."

The young girl stared up at the towering form of Optimus and gave him a hesitant smile. They were currently at the top of Kingman's Bluff, where she and Ironhide had first encountered each other. Boy, without the walls and windows obstructing her view and worry for her mother clouding her mind she was able to focus on just how big these guys really were. Optimus had to be at least thirty feet tall, give or take.

"Sam and Mikaela said that they informed you of what has happened, correct?" Ratchet asked, kneeling down.

Dawn opened her mouth to speak, but Sam cut in.

"Well, we would have told her the whole story, but we were worried someone would show up."

"Or listen at the door..." Dawn said with a slight smile, rubbing her bare arms in the chilly night air. "Buffy's so nosy..." She then giggled and gave a light shrug. "Although...I don't think she would've listened at the door if she weren't afraid me and Mikaela were going to make with the boinking..."

Mikaela made an amused but embarrassed face and scratched the back of her head while Sam snickered to himself and Bumblebee made highly amused clicks.

"Yeah, I kept noticing her feet through the bottom of the door... and then the bunnies thing..." Sam broke into even more laughter and Mikaela followed.

The three teens and the youngling snickered even more until annoyed grunt from Ironhide broke the mood.

"Okay, Ironhide's getting grumpy…" Sam sighed as he held Mojo.

"Tell us, Dawn, what all do you know of this?" Optimus asked.

"Well… at the club Mikaela told me about the whole Mission City thing and that you guys saved the world from a bunch of roid-raged robo-jerks. And that you guys are like… billions of years old." That in itself was odd to swallow. The oldest being she had ever encountered was Anya who was well over one thousand. These guys were older than the Earth itself.

Wow, freaky much?

"And then at the…hospital…" she stopped and swallowed for a moment, fear for her mother rushing back, "… they told me that Ironhide is… drawn to me because of some weird energy ball…"

"Yes, that's correct." Ratchet said, regarding her. "Yes, before the war, some strange form of energy made its way into our world and according to Ironhide it fused with him. And now he feels this odd connection with you much like the feeling he felt when this energy collection merged with him."

As proof of this connection, Dawn felt that strange feeling in her blood reaching out to the giant whenever she was near him.

Dawn ran a hand through her hair, trying really hard not to freak out. "Okay.. I don't remember getting hit with any energy balls…" She stopped and turned to Ironhide. "Did it do anything to you?"

Ironhide slightly fidgeted and Bumblebee began to snicker again. The black Autobot glared at the youngling who snickered even more. Mikaela and Sam joined him.

"What?" Dawn asked as she looked around at all of them.

"Well.." Ratchet began, a light smirk on his face. "He said that it gave him visions… of many worlds. So, whatever this thing is it can travel to many different worlds." The medical officer's face plates pulled into something like a smirk. "It apparently overloaded him."

Ironhide wanted to punch Ratchet in the face. Yes, it was necessary that she knew of this but did he have to get so many chuckles while telling her?

Dawn blinked in confusion. Why was Ironhide looking so pissed and why did the others look like they wanted to crack up? Maybe Ironhide was embarrassed something nearly broke him? He did seem like the type who hated to appear weak.

"Overload…" the young girl mused, "… you mean like a computer overload? He nearly exploded or something?"

At that comparison, Optimus lost his iron resolve and broke into laughter, followed by the two humans and the rest of the Autobots, except for Ironhide who just looked more irritated.

"Oh wow! That was great!" Sam giggled and Mikaela was nearly doubled over, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Um… something like that…" The older girl giggled. Taking a deep breath, the mechanic steadied herself. "An overload is like the robot version of an orgasm."

The younger girl's eyes widened as she processed that. "Ahh… wait, whoa…" She looked around at the four towering giants. "Robots have orgasms?!" That was just too weird! "But wouldn't that mean you guys would have to have sex?" Her eyes widened again. "Oh God! Robots have sex!? But…how?"

Overcome with curiosity, the young girl looked at the closest Autobot, which happened to be Ironhide, she took a few steps closer to him so she was nearly underneath him and craned her neck, peering up between his legs. The weapon's specialist peered down at her in confusion.

"What are you-" He blinked and cycled a sigh. "Oh, for the love of Primus. Dawn, I have nothing there for you to look for!"

Bumblebee instantly doubled over in a fit of clicking snickers and the others joined him. Dawn moved back, clearly embarrassed.

"Sorry…" she muttered, scratching her head and studying her slippers. "Just curious…"

"We have no concept of gender as your species does, Dawn" Optimus said as he contained his laughter.

"Okay… so… you guys have orgasms…" Dear Lord was that weird! "So… how…" she shook her head. "Never mind, I don't wanna know…"

"Dawn, do you recall coming into contact with any strange energy?" Ratchet asked and the young girl shook her head.

"Nun-unh… I think I would remember getting hit by green energy blobs that dole out orgasms…"

Would she? She's never even had an orgasm. How would she know if she's had one or not…? Oh well, whatever. If she was hit by green energy that put visions in people's heads, she'd remember.

"I don't remember anything about green energy…" she gave a small shrug. "Sorry…"

"Well, do you feel this connection thing everyone's talking about?" Mikaela asked.

Dawn looked up at the black Autobot and felt that strange connection again. "Yeah…"

Why did it feel like she knew him from somewhere? She just had this odd feeling that there was something she was missing, something she should know about.

"Dawn?" She heard Optimus's voice. "Will you allow Ratchet to examine you now?"

Dawn turned to the leader and nodded. "Yeah… sure…" She stopped and hesitated. "Wait, I don't have to get naked or anything, do I?"

Ratchet barely concealed an amused smile.

"No."

S.S.S.S.S.S.S

"Buffy, you have to understand, Dawn had a very traumatic ordeal last night. Her friends probably took her out for early morning breakfast and they're probably on their way to the hospital now."

Buffy sighed as she listened to Giles over the phone. She was on the pay phone at the hospital. Xander had driven everyone there. Her Mom was fine. Everyone was currently in her room keeping her company except for her, she was outside on the phone and more importantly Dawn. She had asked her mother if her younger sister had been in to visit her but she hadn't been. How she managed to keep a straight face for her mother and friends, she didn't know. She had called the Watcher to let him know that Dawn had taken off. He was worried, but after she told him that her friend's cars were gone, he calmed down. He did make a valid point.

"Yeah… I'm sure you're right." She sighed and spoke under her breath. "Either that or her and Mikaela are off playing tonsil hockey."

Silence on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry, what?" Giles' asked, not believing what he just heard.

Buffy squinted and hissed at herself. "Okay, Giles… you didn't hear a thing from me… but… Dawn's a lot like Willow… get my meaning?"

More silence at the end of the line. "Oh… I see." He cleared his throat. "So… that young lady at the hospital was-"

"Dawn's girlfriend. Mm-hmm. I practically caught them making out at the Bronze…" She stopped when Giles began to cough.

"Oh dear… I think I hear the… I've got to be going." And with that Giles hung up.

Buffy blinked and chuckled at the Watcher's antics and hung up the phone. When she turned around to head back to Joyce's room she bumped straight into Xander who was looking shocked beyond belief.

"Dawn's a lesbian?" The carpenter whispered in shock so Joyce wouldn't hear.

"Huh?!"

Buffy and Xander whirled around to see Willow behind them, dollar in hand. "I… was going to get some stuff from the vending machine. Some comfort food and stuff…" she pulled Buffy to the side. "Dawn's…gay? You know, like me gay?"

The Slayer sighed and shook her head. "Dawn's going to kill me…" She looked back at her friends. "Guys, it's Dawns business, not mine. And none of you mentioned I blurted it out, okay?"

Everyone gave her a nod of their heads though it was obvious they wanted to question her some more.

"Good, now let's go. Mom needs us." She whirled back around to face both of them "And no mentioning this to Mom, got it?"

The two nodded quickly and followed Buffy back into the hospital room, nearly bumping into a young doctor.

"Oh, sorry…" Buffy gasped and the young man smiled.

"It's not a problem." He looked at her closely. "You're Buffy, right? Joyce Summers daughter?"

Buffy nodded, suddenly afraid. "Yeah… How'd you know who I was?"

"She wouldn't stop going on about her two awesome daughters." He smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Ben, one of the interns."

The Slayer took his hand and shook it, smiling slightly though it didn't reach her eyes. "So… how is she?"

Ben's expression sobered. "Well, I don't think I'm at liberty to tell you that. I'll leave that to Dr. Issacs." And with that he moved away, giving a polite nod to Willow and Xander.

Buffy watched him go, cold dread going down her spine and through her whole body. She looked back at Willow and Xander and without a word, she rushed into the hospital room.

S.S.S.S.S.

"There!"

Shelly sighed and drooped forward in exhaustion. Man, that spell was tiring. She didn't know how her grandpa did it!

"Grandpa!" She called. "I'm done… Where's that coffee? I need a pick-me-up…"

Doc came into the kitchen holding a blue mug and placed it in her hands. He glanced down at what was in the circle and smiled. "Good work, my little Viper. I'll go get you those biscuits. You deserve them."

Shelly smiled weakly and sipped her coffee. She turned to the window and smirked at Barricade who watched the entire process with wide optics. He hadn't uttered a single sound while she did the spell.

"Well…" I held up my end." She held up her head and tossed her brown hair out of her sweaty face. "So, do we have a deal or no?"

Finally getting his vocals to work, Barricade nodded. "All right. You proved yourself, we have a deal."

Shelly nodded and turned back to the circle. "Good, because after I drink this, we're on the move." She kicked the dead child out of the way. "Grandpa… what do you want me to do with that kid?"

Hmm?" His head poked from the kitchen. "Just leave it. Arty's coming over tonight for poker and you know how he loves kids."

"Okie dokey…" She stopped and looked back up. "What about the family…"

"Dreggen's coming over too."

"Okie dokey…"

"Oi…"

Shelly smiled down at the being in the circle and finished the rest of her coffee. "I'm going to get some biscuits and a shower…" She stood and headed for the kitchen, stopping to regard Barricade. "Be sure to fill Frenzy in on everything once he wakes up, hmm?"

S.S.S.S.S

"This is creepy…"

Dawn was now lying flat on her back in the dirt, staring up at the sky. The big yellow Autobot Ratchet was now running some sort of light thing over her body. It didn't hurt but it felt like something was probing its way into her body, but in a creepy way, not a weird sex kind of way.

And Good Lord, robots had sex. That was weird on a whole new plane that she didn't even know existed. How did robots have sex? Why did they have sex? Sex was used to make new creatures and if they didn't have any… baby-making parts… why bother with sex? Or did they make babies a different way and have sex a different way than humans. Well, they had no uglies to bump uglies with so it must be different than human reproduction.

_Okay, stop thinking about sex and robots!_

She glanced up at Ironhide who was watching the whole process in silence. He had a serious expression on his face and looked more than a little troubled. He was probably freaking out and she did not blame him. He was linked to something that wasn't even his species and he had no idea how. She was more than a little scared too.

Ironhide was losing his bolts! Last night after his talk with Dawn, he had a little time to think. She

She focused her vision on Ratchet who was still scanning her. The light had switched from blue to green now. This was taking forever. When he scanned her mother it didn't take this long.

"Erm… so, anything?" She asked nervously.

"It is strange. For you and Ironhide to be linked through this energy, there would have to be traces of it left on both of you. However, I can't find anything…" He got to his feet in one fluid move and cycled something that sounded like a frustrated sigh, turning to his leader. "I just don't understand it."

Dawn sat up and dusted herself off. She looked up at Ironhide who appeared troubled and frustrated. He noticed her and bent down to her level. His facial plating was pulled into a serious expression.

"Dawn, are you certain you don't remember anything?"

The young girl sighed irritably and got to her feet. "God, I already told you. If some swirly energy bag hit me and dosed me up with freaky visions and magic-gasms I'd remember." She looked out over the city, eyes coming to rest on the hospital.

_Oh crap, Mom!_

She turned around to the others. "Look, I'm really sorry about this and I don't know what else to tell you. This whole thing gives me the wig too. But, I need to get back down there and see my Mom."

Okay, sorry, I know it isn't much but more is coming. I'm here all weekend and I only stopped here because it was getting insanely long. Again, I apologize for the long wait. Life was just mad suckage at the moment and got in the way.


	13. Oh My

Disclaimer: I own nothing, okay. Why do I go through this? Let's just leave it at that.

A/N: So glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. And for those of you who are curious, yes the writer's block is gone. Y'know the good thing about being sic? Fever delusions give you the best fic ideas!

"AH!! What the Hell?!"

Shelly gasped as the bathroom door was kicked open and the annoying little Decepticon she had revived chittered at her in Cybertronian. He raised his hand and she thought he was going to shoot her but instead a blue light went up and down her body. Okay, he was scanning her. He must've woken up and Barricade explained what she was. 

Speaking of the large Saleen, his face suddenly appeared in the bathroom window and she squeaked in shock. "Dude!" She growled in annoyance. 

"He did not believe me when I told him what you were and what you did." Barricade explained, ignoring her outburst. 

Shelly growled, letting her teeth elongate and her eyes blacken, causing the small one to jump back and squeak in confused shock. She knew she was going to have problems with these two, but she didn't figure this much!

"Y'know, there is a little thing called manners, even where I'm from! And it's mad rude to barge in while someone's using the potty!"

"Shells, is everything all right?" Doc called from the hallway.

"Oh yeah, everything's wonderful…" she groused. "Aside from the fact that the little one broke in here and the big one's outside while I'm sitting on the John! Go away and let me poop in peace!"

She was not upset about being caught with her pants down. She was a demon and not so shy about her body as humans were. It was just… they walked in on her while she was pooping! 

"Dude!" She growled and decided to try a more level approach. "Boys, I will be out in a moment. Then we have work to do, but right now I need to deal with the matter at hand. Okay!?" She growled the last part.

Frenzy looked at Barricade who grunted in exasperation but moved out of the window. The demon woman slammed the window shut and pulled the shade down before turning to you. "You too… I brought you back, don't think I turn you into a toad!"

Frenzy jerked in fear. A toad? A slimy amphibian organic? Could she really do that? He didn't want to find out so he scrambled out of the bathroom as quickly as possible., leaving the demon to her business.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"So, your stuff is in Bumblebee?"

Mikaela nodded, hands placed on Ironhide's steering wheel for effect. The Autobots had agreed to take Dawn to the hospital to see about her mother. They had at first stopped at her home, well, Ironhide and Bumblebee did, Optimus and Ratchet stayed at Kingman's Bluff. After returning home, the humans found no one was there and figured that Buffy and her friend's must've went to the hospital. So, after quickly changing into regular clothing, they hopped back into the waiting robots, Sam inside of Bumblebee while Michaela "drove" Ironhide with Dawn in the passenger's seat.

"Yeah…" Mikaela answered the young girl as Ironhide turned a corner. "We should be leaving later tonight."

Dawn nodded and glanced at the steering wheel. "Sorry we couldn't figure this out, Ironhide…"

He was quiet for a moment but finally spoke. "So am I, Dawn…"

"Maybe… this… whatever it is will wear off?" She offered lamely and sighed. "God, I suck…" She began talking to herself without thinking like she often did when she was stressed. "God, everyone says I'm a lot like Willow and she's a witch and I can't even figure out some energy thing…"

"What?" Ironhide asked in confusion and Mikaela gave her an unbelieving look. 

"You're a witch?" The mechanic asked in surprise.

"No!" Dawn said too quickly. "I mean, yeah… I want to learn one day, but I'm not a witch. I've never even done a spell. I just… know a witch." She finished lamely. She sighed and looked over at Mikaela. "You think I'm a freak, don't you?"

Mikaela shook her head. "Nah, I don't. I knew a couple of girls at school who were Wiccan, they were cool enough.. Even though I didn't talk to them much." She turned and gave the young girl a shrug. "I don't really buy into all that magic stuff, seems like a bunch of hocus pocus junk to me."

"Agreed." Ironhide said and Dawn rolled her eyes. 

"Whatever… but magic is real." She insisted and Mikaela shrugged.

"It might be, it might not be. I don't know… I can't say. All I know is that if they're proof that it's real then I'll buy into it."

Dawn was a little frustrated but left it alone. She knew there were skeptics in the world. She looked at the wheel. "How about you?"

"The idea that one can call upon forces with their will and cause changes in people and things is just absurd."

Not wanting to get into a big discussion, she dropped it. Instead she changed the subject. "So.. Your planet, what's it called?"

Ironhide was silent for a moment before replying. "It's called Cybertron… and we cannot go back there."

Dawn remembered something Sam had told her last night. "Because that… cube thing was destroyed when Sam killed that thing… Megatard or something…"

Mikaela gave an amused snicker and after a moment the first laugh she had ever heard from the mech came through the speakers. It was gruff but gentle. "Megatron, and yes… With it gone, we can't return life to our planet." 

The younger girl's heart went out to the robot as she tried to imagine forced to live on an alien planet because her own was destroyed. She felt new tears well into her eyes, but this time it was different. She wasn't crying over herself.

"I'm sorry…" She said softly and pressed a hand to the dashboard, stroking it the way she would Lisa's shoulder when she had a meltdown.

He was silent for a while but eventually spoke again. "Optimus has declared this our new home and we have found human allies in Sam and Mikaela as well as a few others. I have a human companion, his name is William Lennox, soldier who helped us during the battle at Mission City. He has a wife and an infant daughter."

"Oh!" Dawn squealed, smiling brightly. "A baby!"

Why did human females squeal at the mention of babies? Shrugging it off, Ironhide continued. "Your government does know about us, but we're keeping our identity secret from the rest the world for the time being."

"So… the government knew about you guys since…?" 

"Since Megatron was found." Mikaela answered. "He crashed probably two thousand years ago and then Sam's great-great granddad found him in the Artic Circle in the eighteen hundreds. In the thirties, they moved him to the Hoover Dam… well… the Hoover Dam was built around him and the Cube. The group was called Sector Seven and they kept Megatron and the Cube in the basement."

"Oh…" was all the smaller girl could mutter.

"You're handling this pretty well…" The mechanic noted and Dawn shrugged.

"Some pretty weird stuff happened here with the government as well. The government hiding alien robots doesn't shock me."

Ironhide stopped at a stoplight and Mikaela turned to Dawn, eyebrow raised. "Oh yeah, like what?"

"Dawn?"

Both girls looked up Dawn broke into a smile at the person in the car next to her. "Riley! Hi!"

The young man smiled and leaned out the window a bit. "Who's this?" 

"Oh… this is Mikaela, my… tutor." She turned to Mikaela. "This is Riley, Buff's boyfriend."

"Hi." The brunette waved and he gave her a smile. 

"Hey." He waved.

"Are you heading to the hospital? Buffy called you?" Dawn asked and his expression turned worried.

"Hospital? What happened? Was she hurt?" He asked and she shook her head.

"No, it was Mom. She… collapsed last night and they wanted to keep her overnight. Everyone spent the night last night after we came home."

Riley took all of this in and nodded bitterly. "And she didn't even call me…" he let out a sigh. "I'll meet you guys at the hospital." The light turned green and he passed them.

Dawn watched him go past with a concerned look on her face and Mikaela arched her brows. "That didn't seem too good…"

"Nope…" The younger girl agreed.

Buffy and Riley had been having problems. She figured it was whole guy thing, that he couldn't stand his girl being stronger than he was. Hopefully he would still be there for Buffy. There mother was the one with the tumor after all. She grew silent as she thought of her mother and sighed. God, this was going to suck. This was going to suck so hard.

"Dawn?" Mikaela asked gently as they pulled into the hospital parking lot. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" She took a deep breath. "I'll be all right." She turned back to Mikaela. "You don't have to stay this time."

"Nope, we're staying. It's the least we can do."

Dawn whirled around when she heard Sam's voice behind her, just getting out of Bumblebee. She had totally forgotten that he was behind them. "Guys… really…"

"No." Mikaela said firmly. "You did all of this for us, it's the least we can do."

The young girl looked back and forth between the two of them and gave a sad smile, wiping away a tear before it fell. "You guys are great… I'm gonna miss you guys when this is over."

The two teens couldn't deny that they would miss her as well. She was a sweet girl and even though she was going through a lot, she was loyal and a laugh riot at times. 

"Hey, you'll see us again." Mikaela said as she pulled the girl into a hug. "I finally have a girl friend who isn't a stuck up skank. No way I'm giving that up!"

Dawn snickered and hugged the girl back. "Man, if I was gay I'd totally date you." The older girl snickered.

"Same here." The mechanic giggled and Sam arched a brow.

"Should I be worried here?" the boy asked and Mikaela snickered again.

"Maybe a little…" she smirked, waggling her brows at Dawn and the young girl burst into laughter, followed by Sam.

"But really, you'll see us again." Mikaela said after she calmed down.

"Yeah, we'll come down, we'll party." He rubbed the girl on her shoulder. "And if you ever need us, we'll be there for you." He finished sincerely and Bee's radio clicked on.

_Count on me through thick and thin_

_A friendship that will never end._

Dawn glanced back at the Camaro and gave him a huge smile, reaching out to touch his hood. "You guys are the best…"

"So.. You ready?" Mikaela asked gently.

Dawn turned and looked at the hospital, feeling dread creep into her body but somehow it was easier to deal with.

"Yeah…" she started to walk but a honk from the Topkick stopped all three of them.

"What the…?" Sam muttered and followed as Dawn rushed up to him.

She got inside of him, pretending to look for something for the casual onlooker. "What is it?"

"Dawn… I said before that we have human allies… You have proven yourself a worthy ally and if you ever need anything from us, we would be glad to assist you."

The young girl smiled as the true meaning to his words sank into her brain. "You're my friend too, Ironhide. And I'll be here for you too." She gently touched the steering wheel and then reached for the door.

"One more thing, Dawn." The weapon's specialist stopped her and she turned back to the steering wheel. 

"Yeah?"

"I do not know a lot about human illness but I believe that if your mother is anything like yourself then I'm sure she will be fine."

Her eyes widened at his kind words and tears came to her eyes again. 

"Are those… happy/touched tears again?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yeah…" She sniffled and gave him a smile and a quick kiss to the steering wheel. "Thank you." 

Outside the Topkick, Sam and Mikaela watched the entire thing with slightly wide eyes.

"Since when did Ironhide get that sweet?" The girl whispered and Sam shrugged.

"Sarah must've yelled at him, I know it…" He whispered back but shut up when he noticed the smaller girl moving to get out of Ironhide. 

When Dawn got back out, she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Okay guy, I'm ready… Let's do this."

S.S.S.S.S

"Buffy!"

The distraught Slayer looked up from the shoulder she had been crying on to see Riley coming through the doors, concern etched all over his handsome face. 

"Riley?" She asked, pulling away from Willow, rushing to give her boyfriend a hug. "How'd you know I was here?"

"I ran into Dawn. She was on the way here with her friend, a pretty brunette girl." The former Initiative member explained as he stroked Buffy's hair. He pulled away but held onto her shoulders gently, looking her in the face. "Is she okay?"

Buffy instantly wanted to break down but she had to be strong. She had to be strong for her mother and for her Dawn when she finally got here. So, with a sniffle she pulled away.

"They… did a CAT scan on her last night… They found a shdaow in her brain… But, they say its too early to be concerned." She pulled her lips in to keep them from quivering.

"Oh, Buffy. I'm so sorry." He pulled her to him.

She let him hug her for a bit but then pulled away when the doors opened again. Dawn, Mikaela and Sam had just come through. She watched as Mikaela and Sam both gave her sister's hands a comforting squeeze and then hung back, letting her go.

"Hey…" The brunette said gently. "How's Mom?"

"Dawnie?" 

The young girl looked up to see her mother, fully dressed. She ran over and enveloped her in a hug. "Oh, God… Mom…" she tried really hard not to cry but she knew she was going to fail miserably. She sniffled and pulled away. "Are you okay?"

Joyce sighed and gently stroked her youngest child's hair. "Sweetie… I had a CAT scan last night…"

The news was painful but not surprising. "A CAT scan?" She asked quietly. 

"Yeah and… I have to have a biopsy… They found a shadow… and they need to find out what it is." Joyce pulled her daughter into a hug. "It's too early to be concerned yet, sweetie."

_You have a brain tumor in the left side of you head! IT'S TIME TO BE CONCERNED!!_

But she didn't scream and shout like she so desperately wanted to do. She just nodded and hugged her mother, gently stroking the left side of her head.

Joyce hugged her daughter once more before letting her go. "I don't want you two to stay here worrying while I have the biopsy."

Buffy instantly protested. "What? Mom, we're not leaving you here and-"

Buffy, who's the Mom here?" Joyce said gently but firmly and the Slayer sighed in defeat. "You have an early class today. You're going." She told the blonde, leaving no room for negotiation. Buffy gave a weak nod. "And you…" She turned to Dawn. "You… hang out with your friends. Like that sweet girl I met last night. Buffy told me she drove me here."

"Yeah…" Dawn nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. "She's in the waiting room with my friend Sam. She drove me here."

"Go get her. I want to thank her." Joyce told Dawn but Willow quickly jumped up.

"Don't wanna break up the mother-daughter time… I'll get her." 

S.S.S.S

In the hospital lot, Bumblebee internally sighed. He was worried about his two humans and about the girl Dawn. He hoped she was all right. He really did mean what he told her. He would be there for her and she was his friend. Apparently Ironhide felt that way as well considering the way he spoke to the girl on various occasions. He seemed to have a soft spot for the girl, and he couldn't blame him. The girl was a total, as the humans called it, sweet heart and had proven herself greatly. He also wondered if it was due to that strange connection the two of them had through that odd energy. Either way, that girl may have been just what the medic ordered for the gruff old bot. He was worried about being able to trust humans. This girl had proven they were trustworthy… a good portion of them at least.

He regarded Ironhide who was parked next to him and opened his internal link. 

_That was extremely "sweet" of you… Who are you and what have you done with Ironhide?_

Ironhide sighed in annoyance. And so it begins.

_Shut up, youngling…_

Bumblebee snickered and continued, this time more seriously. _I' feel… guilty about this. She already has enough issues to deal with._

The Topkick cycled a sigh. _I feel the same way, kid. Dawn's a good kid. I just wish I knew why nothing turned up on Ratchet's scans. She feels it, I feel it. Wouldn't something like that leave some sort of residue? _

Bumblebee thought for a moment but came up blank. He really didn't have a knowledge for this things like Ratchet did and if the medic couldn't figure it out, then there was no way in the Pit that he could answer the older bot's concerns.

_Maybe it will wear off. Look at it this way, we can't sense it… that means the other Decepticons can't as well. Only you two really know its there. _

When did Bumblebee get so damned smart, he didn't know. 

_When'd you get all smart, kid?_

_You just never give me enough credit._

S.S.S.S.

"All right, demon. What are going to do now? You've revived Frenzy…" Barricade stopped. "Exactly how did that work anyway?"

Shelly sighed and shifted in Barricade's front seat. She had left her car in the alley at her grandpa's apartment and decided to ride around in the Decpticon. It was weird for them both. She couldn't believe she was inside an actual living being and he couldn't believe a squishy… well, not a human squishy but a squishy none the less was actually inside of him and he was allowing it. Dear Primus, it was disgusting! She felt like a moving cancerous lump, squirming in his interior. Now they were driving through Sunnydale. People looked a bit confused that a Nevada police car was in California but otherwise didn't pay any attention.

"Okay… for the magically retarded, I did a spell. I preformed rites, sacrificed a life." She stopped and smiled at the steering wheel. "Nice call with the kid, dude. That made it work better than ever." 

"How so?"

She glanced at Frenzy who was in the passenger's seat next to her, eying her curiously. 

"Well, a rat would've worked but it probably would've brought him back as a zombie, no free will at all. The human was a much larger life meaning it gave him back some of his more sentient traits." She tilted her head at the wheel. "Make sense?"

"As much as any of this slag makes sense…" The Saleen replied. "How'd you bring his body to you?"

"Teleportation spell. Would cause a lot of problems for a lesser sorceress, but for me it was cake. I knew where he was, I knew exactly what he looked like and I brought him there, reattached his head with my rejuvenation spell and then worked a little black magic and brought him back." She stopped and turned to glare at Frenzy. "STOP POKING MY BOOB!"

The smal bot chittered at her again in Cybertronian. "Dude, what the Hell is he saying?"

"He wants to know why you have breasts if you're not a mammal."

Shelly just rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh God…"

"So, what is our next plan of action, demon?"

"Acquire the target." She said simply, some of her Sector Seven training leaking into her speech.

"This Key thing? You don't even know what it is!" The Decepticon growled and she smiled.

"No, we're going after the one who probably does know."

S.S.S.S.S

"Hey, Mikaela…"

The two teens looked up from their silent musing to see Buffy's friend standing in front of them. "Hey…Willow." The mechanic said after she finally recalled her name only after remembering how Buffy yelled at the redhead last night when she wouldn't leave Mojo alone. 

"Erm… Dawn's Mom wanted to see you for a bit…" The witch said gently.

Mikaela looked from the redhead to Sam who gave her a nudge. "Go on, I'll be right here."

The brunette nodded and followed Willow over to where Dawn's mom waited with the group. It felt weird, knowing what was wrong with this nice woman while everyone else, aside from Dawn, were totally oblivious. 

_Weird and really fucked up…_

"Hi, Mrs. Summers." She smiled gently.

For the second time in just several hours, Mikaela found herself wrapped in a meaningful hug by another grateful Summers woman and again the brunette felt like she was going to cry. 

"Thank you so much, sweetheart." Joyce said softly, rubbing the girl's back before pulling away. "Do me favor?"

"Hmm?" Her nose was beginning to prickle.

"Keep my little Pumpkin Belly occupied. I don't want her to spend all day worrying about me."

Mikaela gave a shaky smile and swallowed the lump in her throat. "No problem. I'll do my best…" 

Joyce smiled and nodded her thanks and then turned to the rest of the group. "You guys take care now." And with that she walked off with the doctor.

Buffy wanted nothing more than to break down, but she had to be strong. She turned to Dawn who was silently crying and put an arm around her. "Dawn… I'm going to go to class…" she held back a sob. "Because you know Mom'll make sure I went and I don't want to disappoint her." She turned the stricken girl's face toward her. "You… go hang out with Mikaela, okay?"

Dawn nodded numbly. "Okay…"

Buffy pulled her sister into a hug and then let her go, turning to Riley. "Will you drive me to campus?"

"Yeah, sure no problem." He said and gave Dawn a quick hug. "It'll be okay."

_No, it won't._

"Thanks, Riley…" She said quietly.

He nodded and led Buffy out of the hospital. The rest of the Scoobies gave Dawn hugs and words of encouragement before they left for the Magic Box but she didn't hear them. After they were gone she was left with Mikaela, standing in the middle of the waiting room. 

"Let's go…" Dawn said quietly. 

"You gonna be okay?" The older girl asked gently as they met Sam and headed out of the hospital. 

"Yeah…" she sniffled.

_There I go, lying again…_

Mikaela slid inside of Ironhide and Sam, after giving Dawn a hug got inside of Bumblebee. The Camaro's radio blared to life.

_You'll be all right, I know it. _

"Thanks, Bee…" she muttered numbly as she got inside of Ironhide. 

"So… what do you want to do now?" Mikaela asked hesitantly and Dawn shrugged.

"I'm hungry… let's go get something. I haven't eaten since sunrise…" She then looked back up. "And after that I wanna go back to Kingman's Bluff…" She glanced out the window at Bumblebee and Sam, the at Mikaela and then Ironhide's steering wheel. 

"I want to hang out with you guys before you go…"

S.S.S.S.S

"A Slayer?" Barricade snorted at the name. It sounded like a Decepticon designation. The little maggots certainly were getting pompous. 

"Yeah… One girl chosen to fight all of the baddies in the world, blah blah blah… blessed with the strength of ten men… " She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You can take her easy… although if she punches you, it might hurt a bit."

The Decepticon scoffed. Like a human woman, even if she was stronger than most, could have a chance against him. 

"Her name's Buffy… I don't know her last name and I think she's about twenty…"

Frenzy immediately began typing on the laptop that was in the car and preformed a search, rambling in his native language and twitching every now and again. She wanted to get the thing a sedative. She smirked when a picture of a pretty blonde woman appeared on the screen along with other information.

"Ooh, Buffy Anne Summers…. 1630 Revello Drive." Shelly giggled gleefully. 

"We're going after her then?" When she didn't answer he growled in impatience. "Demon!"

"Gimmie a minute!" She snapped before closing her eyes. She tilted her head back and lifted her hands to the top of her head. "Dissimulo."

She slowly slide her hands over her body, her clothes changing from the simple top and pants to a policewoman's uniform. A police hat appeared on her head and she pulled her brown hair into a sensible bun. "You were saying, Captain Impatient?"

Frenzy, it seemed, was shocked into silence That was more handy than a hologram. "Are we going after the girl?" The cop car asked. "After seeing her bring back the dead, a hologram was nothing special.

"Yeah… we are." She asked as she cracked her neck in anticipation.

The Decepticon shivered at the revolting noise while Frenzy tilted his head in disgusted curiosity. "And if she refuses to cooperate?"

"Torture her… and if she doesn't talk… Kill her."

Barricade had no problem with that at all as he revved his engine and made his way to Revello Drive.

S.S.S.S.S.S

Hours had passed since Buffy left the hospital. She was currently sitting in class. She had honored her mother's wishes and went to class. That didn't mean that she paid attention. She was currently sitting at the back of the class, head on her desk, crying quietly while her professor droned on about Plato and Socrates. Who the Hell cared about ethics and whatnot! Her mother was getting a biopsy!

_Screw this… Mom said I had to go to class. She didn't say I had to stay. _

With a sigh she got up from her desk and left the class. She didn't even have her book bag. No one paid attention to her leaving.

Quickly leaving campus, she walked briskly around town. She didn't know where she was going to go. Home? Riley's? To the Magic Box to figure out who that chick was? She figured that was a good idea. And she could look for a healing spell or something while she was there.

_I can't let this happen. I've beaten demons from Hell. I'm not losing my mom to… whatever it is. Oh God! What if it's a tumor!? No, no, Buffy… can't think like that. You'll know later today what it is once they do the biopsy._

She stopped walking when a chill went down her spine. She turned around, finding nothing out of place but that didn't shake her unease. Five years of being the Slayer didn't count for nothing. She didn't know what it was, but she knew something was following her.

_All right, they wanna play this game? Fine. I need something to hit._

S..S.S.S.S

"Hey, aren't we near your house?"

Dawn glanced at Mikaela and then looked at the surrounding area. "Yeah, why?"

The other girl squirmed in the driver's seat. "I really gotta pee…"

The sound of screeching tires filled the area as Ironhide quickly turned and made his way to Dawn's residence. 

"Ironhide!" Mikaela shrieked once she got her bearings.

"Dude, crazy much?!" Dawn yelled once her heart left her throat.

"I already have to deal with Sam's rodent leaking lubricants on me at every given moment, I don't need it from you!"

"Erm… You want me to come with you?" Sam's voice asked over the link.

"Just go ahead, Sam…" Dawn said, glaring at the steering wheel. "We'll meet you there."

"Okay." He said and the link shut off. 

Dawn barely made out the yellow Camaro as Ironhide quickly drove to her home. 

"Dude, chill with the crazy!"

S.S.S.S.S

Barricade inwardly smirked as they tailed the blonde girl. She was briskly walking, heading toward a deserted alley. This was fun. It had been a while since he had been on the hunt and he really missed it. 

"Let me out… then you can have your fun."

The door quickly swung open and she got out. He then slammed his door and drove forward into the alley while Shelly trotted a little ways in front of him. 

"Excuse me! Hold it!" The demon called.

Buffy turned around, expecting some demon to attack her but stopped. It was a police woman. She had been pretending to be bait, so the demon… or pervert guy would attack her and then she could release her frustration and kill the thing if it was a demon. If it was just a human, she'd humiliate him and then turn him over to the authorities. She wasn't expecting the actual authorities.

"Officer, is there a problem?" he short blonde asked nervously.

"Wanna tell me what you're doing walking around in a dark alley? And in the seedy parts of Sunnydale as well?" The woman arched a brow and Buffy's mouth dropped open, face bright red.

"I… I know this looks bad, but I'm not some slut-bag hussy."

The officer gave her a disbelieving smile and then stepped out of the way. "I think that I'll let my partner question you."

The squad car behind her suddenly roared to life, shooting forward so fast that she nearly fell on her ass. "What the Hell?!" She managed a quick look at the officer who was giggling madly. The car revved its engine, making like it was going to run her over. She kicked her feet to the headlights and pushed with every ounce of strength she could muster, sending the car treading back a tiny bit.

Barricade was shocked. The human actually managed to push him back a bit. Shelly wasn't lying when she said that this human woman was strong. Getting fed up he extended his headlights, allowing the blades to show, spinning in her face. He watched in morbid glee as her eyes widened in fear. But his glee was short lived when she gripped the metal bar to one of his lights and bent it back with all of her inhuman strength.

Buffy could've sworn that the cop car let out a scream of pain when she bent the weird weapon back, almost as if it were apart of it and it could feel it. Next thing she knew was blinding pain and she was flying back a few feet, seeing stars. It had ran into here, knocking her further into the deserted alley. It would've knocked out or killed a regular human but she could handle it, it just hurt like hell. 

The sound of odd clicks and whirrs resonating through the chilly morning air went through the air. She looked up and her brown eyes widened as the cop car grew in size, parts shifting and moving until a huge robot stood tall in its place, glaring down at her in rage with burning red eyes. He spoke to her and his voice was deep, penetrating through her entire body.

"You slagging bitch!!"


	14. Batterings and Goodbyes

Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers_ or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer._ Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon and Transformers belongs to Hasbro while the movie belongs to Michael Bay. I am not making any money off of this so please, no suing the broke Detroit girl okay… you'll just get pop bottles that you can return at the store… and stale cookies.

A/N: God! I hate writer's block and drama… they damper so fics like no other! However, even though the drama's not done, the block is starting to erode so I'm trying to work through it. Here we go!

S.S.S.S.S

Pain reverberated through her body as she was roughly slammed into the brick wall. The huge steel fingers of her assailant squeezed her waist like a vice. She could feel warm blood trickling down her back; she must've cut her head or something. She whimpered in pain and tried to pry the fingers from around her waist but with no avail.

"Slagging squishy bitch!" That horrible voice thundered in her ears. "That actually hurt!"

"Now… I could've sworn I told you that she was strong for a human…" The woman on the ground sighed in an exasperated but amused voice. "But, no… you don't want to listen to the dumb demon."

"Can it, lizard!" The huge robot growled at the female on the ground while she snickered.

"Up yours, jackass!" Shelly giggled back as she made herself comfortable on a crate.

The bickering between the demon and the mech did not register in Buffy's brain. She just stared in horror at the huge monster that had her pressed against the brick wall. It had to be about eighteen feet tall. It wasn't as tall as the Mayor when he morphed into a big snake during graduation but this thing was scary enough.

"What the fuck?!" She futilely beat against his fists but it did nothing. She tensed when his blazing ruby eyes regarded her again with a growl. His free hand came up and changed into huge cannon, making her mind flash back to that freak Adam she had faced off against a few months ago.

"Squishy vermin!" He pressed the gun against the side of her head. "Are you vampire Slayer Buffy Ann Summers!?"

"Considering she damn near broke your little pokey things, don't you think that question's a tad redundant?" The demon on the ground asked and he snarled at her.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?!" He turned back to the blonde in his hands, giving her a shake and slammed her through a window. She screamed as glass shattered and cut her skin. He then brought her back out and slammed her against the wall again. It was amazing that she was still conscious. "Answer me, you slagpile!"

Buffy grunted in pain, but managed to form words. "What's it to ya, cockbite…?"

He yanked her to his face and pressed the gun harder against her. "I should incinerate you now!"

"Dude, are you stupid?!" The girl growled from beneath him. "You never ever bring the Slayer close to-"

She never got a chance to finish her sentence. Being the opportunist she was, Buffy reared her fist back, punching him square in the optic, her hand shattered the glass, ripping through sensitive wiring. He screamed again and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. His grip loosened and she quickly got away, dashing out of the alley.

The dark-haired woman snarled and ran after her, catching her by the hair. She yanked the Slayer back into the alley and tossed her to the pavement.

"Oh no, Slayer…" She hissed, her eyes turning black as hell smoke. "This interrogation ain't over yet." Her fingernails turned into long black claws and she straddled Buffy, digging her claws into her upper arms. "Now!" The demon hissed, voice cutting over the blonde's agonized scream as well as Barricade's. "You're going to tell me everything you know about the Key. I know you have it, or at least you know something about it. You're going to…" she stopped and rolled her eyes. "Oh, for Hell's sake!" Her head whipped to the side. "Dude, will you shut up that noise!"

"She's damaged my internal wiring, you dammed alligator!" The huge robot growled at her.

"She's damaged my internal wiring…wah…" Shelly mimicked in a fake whiney voice. "Big baby…" She removed one arm from the Slayer and flicked it in Barricade's direction. "Vigoratus!"

Unfortunately, the moment she spoke the words to perform the quick healing spell, the Slayer took advantage. She brought her fist up and decked the demon in the nose, sending her flying backwards. She quickly got to her feet and he eyes rested on a huge shard of thick broken glass, slightly stained with her own blood. She quickly grabbed it and then charged at Shelly, plunging the broken glass into her chest. The demon stared at the blonde in shock as blue blood trickled from her mouth as well as the wound. She convulsed for a moment and then fell limp.

Buffy quickly took off down the alley once she was sure the demon was dead. She knew good and well there was no way she could handle that big robot thing. She had to get out of here.

S.S.S.S.S

"Ooh, ouch. Nice one, sis."

Rina was currently taking a cup of ramen noodles out of the microwave when a short vision hit her. It wasn't that big so she managed to hold onto her noodles without dropping them. So, her sister just had a run in with the Slayer.

"Is everything all right, Rina?"

The blonde looked up to see Jinx hovering over her and rolled her eyes. That dork was always floating over her. She knew he wanted to get in her panties but that was so not happening!

"I'm fine, Jinx…" She said with a smirk. "My sister just got shanked is all." She grabbed a forked and began eating her lunch. She looked around the warehouse. Ben was still gone, Starscream was seething in his barrier, giving her the look of a thousand deaths and Dreg was rifling through some musty old books. "What's up with him?"

"Oh, he is researching a dark incantation that will find the Key." Her admirer informed her.

"Ooh… those are always fun." She said and turned back to her noodles when the sound of the door closing filled the air.

"Glory! Most groove-tastic one!" Jinx cried out and fell to a bow.

Against the far wall, Starscream sighed in annoyance. Groove-what? The minute he was free, he would kill the males simply because they were irritating as frag. He focused his optic on Glory who had entered holding many bags in her hands, clothed in light blue baggy clothes.

"Went shopping, your greatness?" Rina asked.

"Uh-huh." The Goddess replied. "Any progress on my Key?" She asked, dropping her bags onto the floor.

"Dreg is working on finding a way to find it, most smooth one." Jinx said.

"I've got it!" Dreg cried out, causing all heads to turn to him. "This incantation will truly work once you find all of items you need."

"Gimmie!" Glory shot forward and pulled the ancient paper out of his hand. She quickly skimmed over it. "Rini."

"Yes, my lady?" Rina fell into a bow.

"Go get me a cobra."

Rina blinked in confusion but left to do as she was told. "Of course." She stopped and turned around. "What will you be doing, my lady?"

Glory picked up yellow pages and flipped it open, finding an ad to a magic shop right in Sunnydale called The Magic Box. "I'm going shopping... just need a nice bubble bath first."

Both Jinx and Dreg looked at each other after that. They both knew how long Glory's baths would take.

Rina stood there for a moment before turning to leave. She stopped again and tossed a glance at Starscream. "I can still hold that barrier, buddy. Don't think that because I'm gone you can get out."

The Seeker hissed at her retreating form. Oh yes, the minute he was able he would kill her. And he would make it last too. Riddling the lizard's stomach with bullets seemed too merciful for the humiliation he was suffering through. Forced to act as a fashion consultant for that thing disguised as a human while she waited to use him for Primus knows what. While he knew he couldn't harm that thing that was currently grabbing shampoo bottles even if he tried, he would make certain that the little reptile paid for what she's done to him. And the two males too. They were highly annoying. And that boy too, he'd just kill him for recreational purposes.

_Wait a second..._

Where was that boy? He hadn't seen him since he left this morning. And he had not seen Glory at all today until just now. It didn't seem too out of the ordinary except for one thing. Her clothes. She was clad in the very same light blue scrubs that the boy had worn before he left. It seemed that she also wore a badge that had his picture and designation. A Benjamin Mitchell.

_Strange..._

Leaning back against the wall, he ran a background search on Benjamin Mitchell.

S.S.S.S.S

Finally getting to his feet, Barricade looked around finding no trace of the blonde squishy. He snarled in frustration. The little runt was going to pay for that! She actually damaged his optics and internal wiring. Speaking of which, he felt his wiring and optic start to heal but suddenly stopped. Where was that irritating lizard?

His good optic fell on the demon girl's body which was currently impaled by a shard of glass. Her lifeless body stared up at him and he cycled a sigh.

_Well, slag. Now I have to actually wait for my eye to heal…_

He would never admit it, but he slightly liked that demon. Not in a romantic sort of way, but the same way he felt about a few of his fellow Decepticons. She was cunning and vicious. And on top of that, she was going to make sure he would not have to deal with that irritating Seeker again. Now, she was dead. How was she going to deliver on her end of their agreement now? And she left him alone with Frenzy!

Speaking of the little gremlin…

He released the small robot from the confines of his chest. The little Decepticon looked around curiously, stopping when he saw Shelly's dead body. He tilted his head curiously and then looked back up at Barricade.

"She was killed by that slagging squishy femme." The Saleen informed the bugged out little bot. "Slag it! She was actually useful. Now how are we going to-"

"Chill… the Hell out…"

Frenzy squealed in shock and jumped back while Barricade leaned forward cautiously. Shelly's eyes were now focused on him and she slowly brought her hand to the shard of glass in her chest. Gripping it, she began to pull upwards on it, gritting her teeth in agony as it slid from her body. Once it was free she tossed it to the side and slowly got to her feet.

"All right… Now I'm pissed!" She glanced down at her chest that was slowly healing itself. "That's going to leave a mark…" her bottom lip poked out as she pouted, ", and my boobs are too perfect to be left with marks!"

"Lizard STABBED, LIZARD SHOULD BE DEAD!" Frenzy freaked out from underneath Barricade.

"Oh please, like a stab to the chest can take me out…" She grunted as she wiped the blood from her mouth. "That ho-brain is so dead… Once I figure out what the Key is she is so dead!"

"We go after her then?" Barricade asked, wanting to rip her to shreds.

"Not yet…" She said and the glanced up at the Saleen. "And really dude. Bringing the Slayer to your face?" She rolled her now human eyes. "That was pretty high on the stupid scale."

"As opposed to letting her go?" The Decepticon countered in annoyance while Frenzy stood in the center, looking back and forth between them as they argued.

"To heal you, ingrate! Your belly-aching was getting on my nerves!" Shelly folded her arms across her chest. "I got stabbed in the chest and you don't see me whining and crying like a little baby"

"You scaly slagpile!" Barricade let out a snarl. "I am no squishy sparkling!"

The demon snarled back, letting her teeth elongate. "Then why were you crying like one?!"

"I should rip you to shreds!"

"So you can go back to powdering Starscream's ass?"

"SHUT UP!!"

Both mech and demon looked down at Frenzy who stood between both of them, looking highly annoyed. "You!" He pointed at Barricade. "You!" He then pointed at Shelly. "Shut up!Shut up!SHUT UP!" His scratchy voice rose to a scream and he held his head in his tiny hands, intakes going a mile a minute. They were annoying as slag!

The two were quiet, but it was not a peaceful quiet. This was more like what the squishies called "The calm before the storm". The little bot lowered his hands and looked up at both of them. They were both staring at him with expressions that promised nothing but pain.

"Oh shit…"

"You must miss the Pit... Is that it?" Barricade snarled and advanced on Frenzy.

"Uh-oh... B-b-barricade...?"

"I should kill you right now, you sorry little ingrate." Shelly hissed and the small bot backed up.

"L-l-lizard...ACK!!" Frenzy started but was cut off when she yanked him forward with a clawed hand.

"Lookie here, short shit!" She leaned forward and wrapped her hand around his neck. "I brought you from the dead; I can send your happy ass right back!" She let herself relax.

"But I brought you back for a reason." She turned and looked up a Barricade. "Sorry I snapped. But, we can't go after her now. It'll draw too much attention. Don't get all growly with me!" She hissed when she saw his face contort into a snarl. "And I'm still a little drained from that resurrection spell. We need to keep a low profile. She knows about you guys now, meaning she'll be sending her turd herd to look for you… and me." She gave the Decepticons a reassuring smile. "Don't worry… I can keep you from being found… I just have to get my energy back…" She let out a sigh. "Oi… I need a baby to eat."

S.S.S.S.

"Ironhide thought I was going to pee on him! Can you believe that?!"

Mikaela was currently at Dawn's kitchen table, relaying the Weapon's Specialist's spaz out back to her boyfriend who was highly amused by the whole thing. Sam had swerved around and returned back to the Summers' home thanks to his stomach and the fact that he was broke.

"You must've traumatized the big guy. Huh?" Dawn asked Mojo who was sitting at her feet, wagging his little tail. She smiled and placed a plate of corned beef hash in front of him which he happily devoured.

"So, you guys are going back to school tomorrow... Ironhide's going back to..." She stopped and thought for a minute. "What's his name again?"

"Captain William Lennox." Mikaela told her as she ate her ice cream. "Ironhide went with him after the battle in Mission City."

"What about Ratchet and Optimus?" The younger girl asked.

"Those two mainly just hang around. Ratchet is on duty at a hospital and Optimus... he mainly drives around, taking it all in." The mechanic said as she took her empty bowl to the dishwasher.

"So... they don't have... a contact person?" Dawn asked as she took her plate to the dishwasher as well.

"Nope." Sam confirmed, putting his dish away as well.

"Oh..." Dawn nodded.

The three teens then left the house to the waiting Autobots. This time both Sam and Mikaela got into Bumblebee. Dawn was about to follow suit until she glanced back at Ironhide. "Um, I'm gonna ride with him." She said, causing the two to glance at each other.

"But what if..." Sam started.

"As long as he doesn't go over the limit, nothing should happen." Dawn said logically and got into the Topkick. "Hi!" She smiled at the steering wheel.

"Why aren't you with the rest of the younglings?" He asked her as he started his engine.

"I wanted to talk to you." She said as they turned the corner, following Bumblebee.

No one noticed that just as they turned, a limping, batter Buffy was currently making her way down the street behind them, slowly entering the house and limping up the stairs.

And she did not notice the small silver robot that snuck in after her.

S.S.S.S

"Okay, this is like super frustration... We've got nothing on this girl."

Willow sighed and leaned back in her chair. She had been researching every book she could along with Tara and Xander. Anya was busy shelving books while Giles was attending to the customers.

"She's probably not in the books..." Tara suggested just as the door opened. She looked up out of curiosity and her eyes widened with recognition. "I know that guy..."

Willow blinked and looked over her shoulder. There was a young man at the counter, talking with Giles. He was showing him something on his cell phone. "Who is he?" The redhead asked.

"That's the guy who tried to hit on Dawn and I freaked out on her." The shy witch explained.

At that moment the strapping blonde boy turned away from Giles and looked over at Tara. "Hey..." He quickly made his way over to the group. His eyes widened with recognition when he noticed Tara but quickly dismissed it. "Have you guys seen this girl?" He then handed Willow his cell phone. On the screen was a picture of a blonde girl with wide blue eyes. She looked a bit like him.

"Uh... sorry, no..." Willow said and both Xander and Tara shook their heads.

"Who is she?" Tara asked.

"My sister. She came along with us and now we can't find her. She's been gone since last night."

Willow and Xander both exchanged glances. Chances are that if someone goes missing in Sunnydale overnight, they weren't coming back. Well, they may come back but you might have to ram them with something wood and pointy.

"I'm sorry..." Tara said softly. "I'm sure she'll turn up..." _Probably room-temp and bumpy faced and Buffy'll have to stake her..._

"If you see can you call this number?" The young man asked, quickly scribbling down his cell number and name on the back of a piece of paper, handing it to Tara.

"Sure, no problem..." She glanced at the name on the paper. "If I see her, I'll be sure to call you, Trent."

He nodded his gratitude and quickly left the shop. When he was gone Willow let out a sigh, not noticing the other woman that had just entered the shop.

"Oh man... That's so sad... I really hate this town at times..."

"It is really sad." Tara agreed. She turned her attention back to her books. "But, as I was saying... if this woman isn't a sorceress or a demon then maybe she isn't in the books."

"Are you saying...?"Giles started as he finished ringing up a sale. "That she's something else all together? Something new?"

"No..." Tara shook her head. "Something way old. Something that pre-dates written word."

Willow leaned back in her chair and looked up at Giles. "You said that the glowly sphere thing was created to repel a..."

"...That which cannot be named..." Giles finished thoughtfully.

"So... what if she predates language itself?" Tara asked.

"If that's true then we can determine her moves, her habits, where she'll turn up-"

"Hey."

Giles stopped and turned at the female voice behind him. A blonde woman in a purple dress and heels was currently standing with two items in her hands. "I want these."

"Oh, of course." He smiled pleasantly at her. "Right this way." He lead her to the register and rung up her items. She paid for them and left after giving him a smile.

After she was gone, the Watcher turned back to the group. "This woman could be anywhere, but I'm sure it won't be long before she shows herself."

S.S.S.S.S

"So... Sam and Mikaela told me last night, you're a weapon's specialist?" Dawn asked as she got out of Ironhide. They were finally on the bluff where Optimus and Ironhide stood waiting.

"Yes."

"Which is pretty disturbing considering he shoots first and asks questions later..." Ratchet interjected.

"Yes... and...?" Ironhide asked as he transformed to his true self.

"Dawn, how is your mother?" Optimus asked, kneeling down to see her better.

The young girl swallowed the lump in her throat at the mention of her mother but answered. "She's getting a biopsy right now... She didn't want me and Buffy there worrying about her." She bit the inside of her lip to keep it from trembling. Hadn't she cried enough?

The leader's optics regarded her sadly. "I am sorry you found out the way that you did."

"Yeah, really. Nice work, Hatchet." Ironhide growled at the CMO who glared back but couldn't deny that he did feel bad about it.

"Don't be mad at him..." Dawn said, causing everyone to look at her. She blushed at all of their scrutiny. "I mean... Everybody's always sugarcoating things, treating me like a little baby. Even if it was really crappy news I'm glad somebody isn't acting like I still wear Pull-ups." She gave the CMO a small smile. "So, don't worry. I'm not mad at you."

The greenish yellow bot regarded her silently and then gave her a smile. "Thank you, Dawn."

S.S.S.S

Inside the Summers' home, Frenzy was bored out of his mind. He was currently in his alt mode, in the living room on the entertainment center. Luckily, the Summers's had a radio that was the same model as his alt mode. Now, he just had to wait for something useful, or interesting to happen... although he was dying to kill a squishy.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs came through the house. He saw the blonde girl, the Slayer slowly making her way down the stairs. She had been in recharge for the better part of two hours after her run in with Barricade. She was now wearing different clothes and she had applied bandages to the cuts she had acquired.

"Dawn?" She called, looking around only to receive no answer. She sighed and then winced when her side began acting up. "Damn it... first that bitch and now this... I gotta let Giles know about this..."

And with that she left. The minute she was gone, Frenzy transformed and began snooping about the house.

S.S.S.S.S

"Okay... I'm really going to miss you guys..."

Dawn now stood on Kingman's Bluff with Sam, Mikaela and the rest of the Autobots. They were now about to head back to Tranquility. The two teens had school in the morning and Ironhide needed to get back to his human as he put it.

"Hey..." Mikaela slid an arm around the young girl. "We said before, we'll hang out again soon. It's only...what, four hours from Tranquility to here? We'll harass you this weekend."

Dawn perked up. "Promise?"

"Definitely." Sam said. "We'll hang out at that club..."

"You mean if you're not broke again, huh Sam?" Mikaela smirked.

"Broke?" Optimus asked suddenly. "Sam, you did not inform us that you were malfunctioning."

Dawn looked up at the towering robot and giggled. "Broke means he has no money, Optimus."

"Oh..." The Autobot leader said in relief and then nodded in understanding. "Oh, the usual..."

"HEY!" Sam cried, insulted and Optimus shrugged.

"I'm just saying..."

"Ooh, nice one, Optimus." Mikaela grinned.

"Thank you."

"And we'll call you too." Sam said quickly to Dawn, tossing a glare at his girlfriend as well as the leader

"Good thing we get free long distance." The young girl said lamely then sighed. "I need a cell phone."

"Yeah, you really do." Sam agreed. "Try to work on that."

"Will do."

"Dawn..."

The young girl looked up at Optimus and stepped back as he knelt down so he could be level with her.

"Yeah...?"

"You have been great ally to us all. If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

The young girl smiled at the Autobot leader. "No problem... and same goes for you..."

The blue and red mech smiled lightly at her and stood up. At that moment Ratchet knelt down to her.

"I apologize for any distress I may have caused you, Dawn..."

Truth be told, Ratchet felt a little bad about breaking the news about her mother the way that he did.

The shorter girl fought down her dread as she thought of her mother and tried to smile. "Hey, at least you were straight with me... It's all I ever really wanted... No hard feelings. I'm not mad at you." She said gently and the CMO gave her a nod, feeling relieved and stood back up.

Bumblebee's radio clicked on as he knelt down in front of her and gently stroked her head with his finger. Vitamin C's voice filled the air.

_As we go on  
We remember  
All the times we  
Had together  
And as our lives change  
Come whatever  
We will still be  
Friends Forever_

Dawn giggled and patted his finger. "You got that right…" She then gave him a fake insulted glare. "What, no come on?"

Bee's optics brightened and the radio switched.

_Tell me how you love me more  
And how you think I'm sexy baby_

Sam and Mikaela both shook their heads in amusement while Dawn broke into laughter. "Oh, God, dude! I'm so gonna miss you!" She giggled, moving forward to hug his chin. His vocal processor made a sad, whining noise and he gave her back a careful stroke with his finger in what she figured was his version of a hug.

She pulled away and then turned to Ironhide. He was standing a good ways away from everyone else, looking out at the city as the sun began to set. She made her way over to him and gently tapped his foot.

"Hey…"

He looked down at her and knelt down. "Take care of yourself, Dawn."

She gave him a nod and then reached forward to hug his foot. "I'mma really miss you, dude."

Off to the side, Bumblebee tapped Optimus and Ratchet, then pointed to the display between the girl and the gruff mech. Mikaela also tugged on Sam's shirt, turning him toward the scene.

Ironhide looked down at the girl on his foot and bent down, holding out a hand for her. She looked at it nervously for a moment before hesitantly sitting on his outstretched palm. She clutched tightly onto his fingers as he brought her up toward his face.

"Relax, girl. I'm not going to drop you…" His voice held an edge of humor.

She nodded and took a deep breath to steady herself. "Thanks… for, y'know... Everything…"

He gave her a small nod. "Thank you as well."

She stood in his palm and for the second time in twenty-four hours, leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the nose. She gave him a big smile and he returned it albeit lightly and gave her back a careful stroke with his thumb before setting her down.

"Oh, my God! That was the cutest thing!" Mikaela squealed and both of them looked up at their audience.

Mikaela and Sam both stood with huge smiles on their faces. Bumblebee was not too surprised, he had seen this last night. Optimus and Ratchet both stood with slightly surprised looks on their faces.

"I still say Sarah's been threatening to be nicer…" Sam whispered.

"I think you may be right…" Optimus replied.

"You guys don't give him enough credit! He's sweet!" Dawn insisted and Ironhide grunted in annoyance. Way to kill his image.

"Okay… that's just weird." Sam said shaking his head. "Come on, Dawn. I'll take you back to your house."

"Actually, can you drop me off at the Magic Box?" She asked and he nodded as Bumblebee transformed.

"No problem."

Sam and Mikaela both go inside of Bumblebee and Dawn got in the backseat. She glanced out the window at the three remaining bots and smiled sadly. She'd miss them all, especially Ironhide. Once again she felt that strange feeling and judging by the way his optics widened he did too.

"Goodbye Dawn." Optimus said and the other two bots nodded at her.

"Bye…" She waved sadly as Bumblebee started off.

Ironhide watched them leave, feeling his Spark pulse as the strange link between them tugged again. He couldn't deny that he would miss the girl. Cycling a sigh, he turned towards the other two.

"We should go…" He said and transformed, driving towards the freeway.


	15. Skulking and Stalking

Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers _the movie or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Transformers_ belongs to Hasbro while the movie belongs to Michael Bay and _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

"Why aren't you dead?"

Green eyes that were previously closed cracked open to give Barricade's steering wheel a glare.

"Gee, glad to be with you too…" Shelly groused.

She was currently seated in Barricade's driver's seat, recuperating from her battle with that irritating blonde. After sending Frenzy on a recon mission to the Slayer's house and then stopping to get a quick bite to eat, the two were now heading to Shelly's home.

"You know what I mean, idiot." The Saleen growled as he turned a corner. "That was a killing blow. It should have finished you in an instant."

"Oh… that…" She sat up straighter. "I don't have any major organs in my chest, honey…" She stiffened when she felt something moving up and down her body. "Stop scanning me! That feels gross!" She shivered. "Now I feel violated…"

"No more disgusting as the sight of you ripping into a squishy sparkling."

The demon snickered and ran her tongue across her lips. "What… I thought you liked violence."

The Saleen pulled to a stop in front of her building. "The killing was entertaining… watching you eat it… that was revolting."

Shelly only laughed as she exited the cop car and turned, nearly running into a woman who was exiting the building.

"Hey, watch where the fuck you're-" She stopped and her eyes narrowed. "Rina…"

The blonde demon smirked and shifted her duffle bag on her shoulder. "Howdy, Sis. How's it goin'?" She gave her sister a quick once over. "God, you look ridiculous in that police getup. But, I see that stab wound healed up…"

"What the Hell are you doing here?" Shelly spat.

"Oh, come on. It's still my place too. Just because we're competing to kill each other doesn't mean we still can't be roomies, can it? Are you that shallow?"

"Yes, I am. And my name is on the lease, now get your shit and get the hell out."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "That's what I was doing, you dolt." She peered over her sister's shoulder and smiled. "Hi, N.B.E 3! Like working for my sister, do you?"

The shock trooper gave a surprised rev of his engine just as Shelly pushed the blonde in the chest.

"Leave him out of this, skank."

A chuckle erupted from the blonde. "Ooh, you two are all nice and cozy, hmm? Well, I won't keep you. I have to be leaving anyways. Glory's expecting me back."

Rina started to leave until Shelly yanked her back. "What the Hell are you talking about?"

"Oh…" Rina's eyes went wide with false surprise. "Didn't your little sensory thing tell you that?" Her eyes then lit up with satisfaction. "That's right skank, I'm currently staying with the Divine One herself… I brought her a little present and she was most appreciative… Which means…I'm the winner of our little bet."

Shelly's insides froze in fear as her sister advanced on her. _Shit! Shit, shit, shit! What am I going to do?! Think, Shells. THINK!_

"Wait a second, Rinacora." She said quickly. "Considering I did not even approach her, you didn't win a damn thing."

The blonde stopped and then seemed to consider it for a moment. "Ah damn…" She growled and stalked off to her car. After opening the trunk and dumping her duffle into it, she turned and glared at her sister. "Fine then, I acknowledge that you're right. But once you've approached her I'll still be the favorite and then I'll take what's mine." And with that she slid into the car and sped off into the night.

Once she was gone from sight Shelly released the breath she did not know she had been holding. Damn, was that close?!

"Who was that?"

Barricade's voice coming from the speakers brought her back and she shook her head to clear it.

"My dear, sweet sister… Love her like a cold sore…"

"How does she know about me? Did you tell her something, demon?" His voice had taken a dangerous edge and she turned to glare at him.

"No, stupid! She worked with me at Sector Seven. And the two of us have a little side bet going at the moment where the loser's life is forfeit to the winner… and there's no way in Hell that ho-bag is going to win." She glowered and headed up the walkway. "I'll be right back." She went into the building and into her loft.

On the curb, if Barricade could have, he would have rolled his optics and shook his head.

It seemed that regardless of species, femmes were completely stupid when it came to competing with each other, stupid and ruthless.

An enraged shout erupted from the third story of the building. "What the Hell?! That bitch took my curling iron!"

The Saleen sighed again.

S.S.S.S.

"Okay, now let me see if I understand this. You're saying that this woman attacked you and that… her squad car turned into a giant robot?"

Buffy was currently seated at the table in the Magic Box with Giles, filling him in on the events that transpired early that day. Willow, Tara and Xander were all seated as well while Anya manned the front counter.

"And it totally handed me my ass. Luckily I punched its eyes out before it could do anymore damage…" She stopped when she saw all of the stares she was getting from her friends. "What?! I'm telling the truth!"

"We believe you, Buffy…" Willow said, placing her hand on top of the Slayer's. "I mean, we've all had some encounters with robots over the last five years. I was about to be Molech's robo-queen during sophomore year, remember?"

"But, punching its eye out…?" Xander asked skeptically.

"Are you sure you're not dramatizing because you're ashamed that this chick handed you your ass in a very humiliating and degrading way?" Anya asked from the counter as she counted the receipts only to receive a shocked look from the Slayer as well as exasperated ones from the rest of the group.

"Anya…" Xander said nervously and she rolled her eyes.

"Right, I have to remember to sugarcoat things like the rest of you." She then continued to busy herself around the counter.

"Even though she was really… mean about it, do you think Anya has a point Buffy?" Willow asked. "Are you sure you're not just…"

"Willow." Buffy said seriously. "I think I'd know if I planted something like that a facer. This thing attacked me. It slammed me against the building, scrambled my brain and nearly killed me." She stood up and lifted her top to show the mottled bruises that were spread across her entire midsection and they all gasped in surprise.

"Good Lord, Buff." Xander gasped in shock.

"Buffy…" Willow said softly in horror. "Okay, okay… I'm sorry…" She cleared her throat once Buffy pulled her shirt back down. "And he was working with a demon girl?" She stopped and scrunched her brow. "Wait, it's a 'he' right? I mean, if it's a robot can it be a 'he'?" She looked around only to be met with looks of confusion.

"I don't know…" Buffy frowned in confusion. "It had a big, boomy evil guy voice so I'm guessing it was a 'he'…"

"Unless it was a 'she' and really big on the butch…" Xander offered and then smiled at Willow and Tara. "No offense, girls."

"We're not butch!" The redheaded witch whined while Tara smiled.

"None taken."

"So, this thing…"Giles said, wanting to get back to business. "It was working with a demon woman?"

"Yeah, she was dressed as a cop. She was all bitchy and sarcastic. She was pretty strong too. Took a big chunk out of my arms…" She lifted up her sleeves to show the gashes from where the claws penetrated as well as the bruises that formed from where she was gripped.

"You put the big hurt on her?" Xander asked.

"Oh yeah…" Buffy winced and pulled her sleeves back down. "Rammed a piece of glass through the bitch's chest."

"What did she want?" Tara asked.

The Slayer tensed slightly. "I… don't know." She said softly. "She didn't say." She then looked up at Giles with a knowing look which he understood.

"Yes, well…" Giles moved toward the counter and looked outside the door. "Oh, it seems Dawn's friends have brought her back.

S.S.S.S.S

Staring out of the window, Dawn sighed as Bumblebee pulled up in front of the Magic Box. "Guess this is it, guys…"

The doors opened and all three exited the Camero. Sam pulled the younger girl into a hug. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"I'm mowing lawns tomorrow… I'm getting a cell phone even if it kills me." She said as she hugged the boy back.

"Hey, Mikaela's your girl. Get her to buy you one…" He smirked at Mikaela who rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Shut up, Sam."

He chuckled and turned back to Dawn. "And I mean it. We'll be back. And I won't be broke…" He said with a pointed look at Mikaela who gave him a 'yeah right' look. He rolled his eyes and turned back to Dawn. "And I'm sure your Mom'll be fine."

Standing on her toes, she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Thanks, Sam." She let him go and then turned to Mikaela. "So, I guess this is the big breakup, hmm?"

"I'll never date another girl, ever." The older girl smiled as she pulled Dawn into a hug. "You call me the minute you get that phone."

"_You can call me any day or night (Call me)" _Bee said and Dawn looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"You bet." She then turned to Mikaela as a thought came to her. "You know you were my first kiss, right?"

The older girl's blue eyes widened in shock. "Oh… wow…erm…" She glanced at Sam who was currently leaned against Bee, snickering. "Um… sorry… but I…"

"Yeah, I get it." Dawn said, understanding that they needed to make it look believable. "It's cool."

Looking over the older girl's shoulder she noticed Buffy along with Giles, Xander and Willow all standing in the door. She could already tell by the looks on their faces that Buffy told them her "secret".

A small spark of evil lit itself in her head and she fought not to giggle.

_God, this is going to be so weird…_

Mikaela eyed Dawn curiously as the young girl's face turned bright pink and she let out a nervous giggle. "You okay?"

Dawn looked up at her and nodded. "Yeah, and about the whole kiss stealing thing… just try to make it better before you go…" And with that she pulled Mikaela down by the shoulder's and kissed her hard on the mouth.

The older girl's eyes popped and she let out a squeal of shock. Her eyes met Sam's who was staring in awe with mouth hanging open and eyes wide. She heard Bee's engine give a rev that could only be describe as surprised as well as a chorus of gasps from behind which probably came from Dawn's sister and her friends. So, to keep up appearances, she closed her eyes she pulled Dawn closer by the waist, kissing her back, without tongue. No need to traumatize herself or Dawn.

Finally pulling away, Dawn shoved a hand through her hair. "Um… wow…" Her face was like as red as a stop sign. She then looked up and saw the Scoobies standing in shock and smiled. "Hi, guys!"

Mikaela turned and gave them a sheepish wave before turning back to Dawn. "So…" She cleared her throat as she tried to get her brain to work again. "How was that?"

Dawn just gave a small shrug. "Eh, not what I expected…"

"Hey!"

The younger girl smiled and headed for the Magic Box. "Catch you guys later…" She waved and then snickered at the look of total shock on Sam's face. "Take care of my girl, okay?"

"Uh… right…" The boy muttered as he got inside the Camero.

"Bye…" Mikaela waved as she got inside the passenger seat.

Bee gave a honk of his horn and then took off toward the freeway.

As they drove, both teens sat in silence for a bit until Sam finally broke it.

"So…"

"Sam…" The girl said warningly.

"I just want to know… who's the better kisser? Me or Dawn?"

Mikaela gave him a look and then turned to look out the window.

"No comment."

S.S.S.S.S

Back in the Magic Box, Dawn was fighting to hold back giggles as everyone stared at her in shock.

"What?" She asked as she sat down at the table.

"Uh… so… you're…?" Tara asked gently.

"Bisexual." Dawn answered the timid witch and then turned to Buffy. "You didn't tell everyone?"

"Just me…" Xander said uneasily.

"And me." Willow raised her hand.

"And… regrettably me…" Giles muttered.

"So… you're having sex with girls?" Anya asked from the counter in slight shock. "Well… you do look up to Willow so it only makes sense that …"

"NO! She's not having sex!" Buffy yelled and then turned to Dawn. "Are you?"

Giles coughed and turned to tidy up some shelves while the rest of the Scoobies turned to Dawn.

The youngest of the group was ready to berate her sister but then stopped and moved to the shelves, not answering.

"Dawn…?" Buffy asked nervously, flanking her sister. "You're not having sex, are you?"

"Pleading the fifth here…" Dawn said with a light smirk which widened at Buffy's gasp and the other's sputtering. "Kidding! Still a big virgin."

The Slayer sighed in relief and then glared. "Stop doing that!"

The younger girl snickered a bit and then turned to face Buffy. The smile vanished when she saw the cuts on her face. They were very small due to her advanced healing but still noticeable. "Buffy, what happened?"

Xander was about to tell her but Buffy quickly cut him off. "Just got tossed through a window… by a vamp. It got lucky." She turned to look at the rest of the Scoobies. All except Giles were giving her confused looks while Giles quickly moved to back Buffy up.

"Yes, well, I trust you won't be that sloppy again. I'll have to add more to your training to see that doesn't happen again."

Dawn looked back and forth from the two of them. She had a feeling something was amiss but couldn't put her finger on it. She put it away for now and then focused on a more important matter. "So… any news on Mom?"

_She has a tumor… now everyone else needs to find out. _

Buffy sighed and shook her head. "Not yet… although I think it's time we go to the hospital to see about her."

"I'll take you…" Xander offered and Buffy nodded her thanks.

"Thanks, Xand…" She took a deep breath and then turned to Dawn. "You ready?"

Nodding numbly, Dawn moved to the door.

"I'm sure she's fine… Just a stress thing." Willow said hopefully and Tara nodded.

"Yeah… the museum work could be taxing…"

Buffy gave a smile of thanks to the two witches while Dawn bit the inside of her mouth to keep from crying.

"Let's go." She said finally.

S.S.S.S.

Benjamin Mitchell. Age twenty-five. Has no known parents. He was found on the steps of St Matthew's Church as an infant and lived in an orphanage until he was seven. He was adopted by Stewart and Felicia Mitchell who abused the boy until he was thirteen when his adoptive parents were killed in what witnesses described a massacre. The murderer is described as a tall blonde woman who was crazed beyond belief. She literally ripped his parents apart and afterwards, witnesses say they can't recall what happened to her. Only that she left before Ben returned and he had no idea what had happened.

He was then moved from foster home to foster home until he was old enough to live on his own. He graduated at the top of his class and went to University of California Sunnydale to become a doctor and is not a resident at Sunnydale Hospital.

Leaning back against the wall, Starscream shut off his search. It seemed that this Ben boy and Glory were connected in some way.

"HEY! Where the Hell is that worthless Nythislan with my cobra!?"

Cycling a sigh, the Seeker turned to look at the extremely pissed off woman at his feet. She was pacing back and forth with her hands on her hips. Her minions were following her around but the boy was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sure she will be back soon, your most divine… you…" Jinx said as he bowed.

Well… if she's not back soon she'll have to be punished…" She began to think for a minute and then looked up at Starscream. "Hey, what's a good punishment for the lizard?"

"Let me kill her."

She smiled brightly at him. "Ooh! Vicious! I like you!" And then the smile dropped. "But, nuh-unh. I need her alive so she can keep the spell up to hold you in until I need you."

The Seeker narrowed his lone optic at her. He wanted to rip her to shreds but knew it was highly unlikely. She had no known weaknesses and all that would result would be another hole in his head. The fist sized hole had already completely healed but his optic? That would have to be replaced.

"What do you need me for?"

"I said wait and see, didn't I?" Glory snapped impatiently. "Now, what's a good punishment for Rini? And nothing that'll incapacitate her… just crush her spirit a whole lot…" She plopped in a lush armchair and cross her legs. "Whaddaya think?"

S.S.S.S.S

"A… a what?"

"A tumor, Buffy… The… doctor told me that I have a tumor… "

Buffy sat limply in the chair that was next to Joyce's hospital bed and swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. Her mother had a tumor.

"Oh my God…"

On the bed, Joyce was clad in a hospital gown and a bandage adorning the left side of her head. She was trying to hold it together but appeared ready to breakdown at any moment.

"He says I have a real chance of doing fine… One in three…" Joyce then bit her lip to keep from crying and covered her eyes so her daughter wouldn't see the tears welling in them.

Getting up from the chair, Buffy rushed over and embraced her mother, tears spilling silently as Joyce sobbed into the younger woman's shoulder. After a few moments, Joyce pulled back and got a good look at Buffy's face.

"Buffy, what happened to you? You're all scratched up and-"

"It's nothing." Buffy said quickly. "Just… a demon thing that got in few lucky hits. I'm fine…" The Slayer then let out a sigh. "And this isn't about me."

Nodding, Joyce took a deep breath. "I have to tell Dawn… Where is she?"

"She's in the waiting room with Riley. Xander called him after he dropped us off. He wanted to stay too but he has work in the morning so I made him skedaddle." Buffy swallowed another pesky lump that had risen in her throat. "You want me to stay?"

"No…" Joyce shook her head. "I think… I should tell her alone."

Nodding, Buffy got up from her mother's bed and moved to open the door. "I'll stay close, okay?"

s.s.s

"It's going to be all right, Dawn. I'm sure of it."

Dawn gave a small but false nod at Riley's well meaning words. There was nothing anyone could say to make this easier but she couldn't say anything so she had to suffer alone. She really wished Sam and Mikaela were still here as well as the robots, but they weren't so she would have to deal with this.

"Dawn…"

Both looked up to see Buffy standing in the doorway and Dawn's insides froze. Here it comes, the moment of truth. However, some part of her held onto the hope that maybe Ratchet was wrong. Maybe he didn't know human bodies that well and made an assumption. The logical part of her mind told her to stop hoping, it was useless but she couldn't help but wish.

"Yeah…?" She asked softly.

"Mom…" Buffy stopped to take a deep breath. "Mom… wants to talk to you… alone."

Her stomach twisted into a thousand knots and she fought to keep tears from welling into her eyes. "Okay…"

Taking a deep breath to calm her pounding heart she stepped past her sister and into the room. Her mother smiled sadly but bravely at her and held open her arms. Overcome with emotion she rushed over and embraced her.

"Dawn, honey…" The older woman pulled back to look her youngest daughter in the face. "I have something to tell you…"

S.S.S.S.

Back at the Magic Box, everyone, save Anya and Giles were still working on finding information about the, as Xander calls her, the PMS case to end all PMS cases. Willow was now using the Internet while Tara was still using the books.

Off to the side, Anya was counting receipts when something caught her eye.

"Hey…" Her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers to get anyone's attention as she became more alarmed. "HEY!!"

Everyone looked up at the ex-demon in confusion. "Anya, what's the deal?" Willow asked. "You undercharge someone or something?"

Ignoring the witch, Anya rushed over to Giles and waved the offending receipt in his face. "You sold someone a Khul's amulet and a Sobekian bloodstone!"

Giles blinked at the girl's accusing tone and took the receipt from her to read it. "Yes, I believe I did."

Anya let out a disbelieving scoff. "Are you a total moron!?"

The Watcher drew back in surprise and then narrowed his eyes at her. "How about I answer that question with a firing?"

Xander opened his mouth to save his girlfriend from unemployment but Anya appeared unfazed. "You never sell these things together! Ever! It's bad, major league bad! Don't you know about the Sobekites?"

"The whosits?" Xander asked intelligently while Giles looked perplexed.

"Oh! Aren't they, like, this Egyptian cult that's really heavy into the black magic and stuff?" Willow asked and Anya nodded.

"And the Khul's amulet is a transmogrification conduit?" Tara asked and Anya nodded again.

"Yes and those two things together equal really, really bad news!"

"Be that as it may," Giles began. "I still see no reason for concern. I mean, the-the Sobekian transmogrification spells were lost thousands of years ago. And besides, the young woman to whom I sold them would have to have had enormous power-" He stopped and his eyes widened in horror.

"Young woman?" Willow asked quietly.

"Lost long ago as in 'they would be no problem to find for someone who predates written word' long ago?" Tara asked nervously.

"Oh dear Lord…" Giles breathed in horror.

Anya's eyes widened and she gave Giles a look that clearly said "Nice one, dumbass" while Xander just looked confused.

"What? What's with all the frighteny looks?"

Anya sighed. "Well, see, honey, it's like this…"

S.S.S.S.S

In another part of Sunnydale, the cemetery to be exact, Spike had just dusted another vampire. He had been fighting vamps all night long as well as other demons. Not that he was good, or that he was interested in getting in good with the Slayer and her lot… regardless of the small voice in his head that told him the good deeds would soon have the Slayer warm and pliable in his arms soon enough… No, it was mainly for the violence. And since he couldn't slaughter humans as he'd like without that sodding chip going off, he had to make do with this.

"Soddin' pathetic is what it is…" The blonde vampire fumed.

Leaning back against a tree he let his mind wander to his Slayer. Why the Hell did he have to go and fall in love with her? Was he that desperate after Drusilla dumped him for that chaos demon? He let out a sigh. No, it was before that. That's what caused Dru to leave him in the first place. What was that she said?

"_I look at you… and all I can see is the Slayer."_

"She knew even before I did with that bloody sight thing she's got goin' on… I was doomed even before I knew it."

All these thoughts of the Slayer made him want to go to her. However, there was that whole 'whenever she saw him she punched him in the face' thing. Not that he would let that stop him.

Pushing away from the tree, he made his way to the Slayer's home.

S.S.S.S.S

"Useless! Useless! Useless!"

Frenzy hissed as he moved throughout the Summers home, searching for anything that might give a clue to what this Key thing was and he was coming up completely short.

At the moment he was in a bedroom. From the look of things, only squishy femmes lived in the house. He had already been in the largest room which contained nothing of interest there, just clothes, shoes and papers of medical information.

Now he was in another room filled with stuffed animals and posters of male squishies. There were pictures on a table with about six compartments that held clothing articles. He stopped to examine the pictures. One was of two youngling females, one with blue eyes and light brown hair and the other had dark skin, jet black hair and brown eyes and were both smiling. Another was of two older humans, a male and a female with a blonde youngling holding a dark-haired squishy sparkling on her lap. He hissed in disgust. One thing that was worse than adult humans were human younglings and sparklings. Especially the newly created ones! They howled and screamed and released foul-smelling exhaust in cloth aft-coverings. Nasty!

He resumed looking at the pictures. Another was of this girl with the Slayer girl Buffy. He then proceeded to look inside the drawers and stopped when he pulled out something that might as well had been a lace string. He tilted his head in confusion as he stretched the lacy item and tilted it this way and that. Where exactly would a human wear this?

He moved his attention to a box that contained many books. Some had stickers and mainly warned for Buffy not to read them. Picking up one he began to flip through it. It was apparently a chronological record or something. This one was apparently started eight years ago and spoke of Stacy Brown stealing her Barbie and she cried in front of everyone.

He stopped and blinked. What was a Barbie?

He was about to pick up another one when he noticed one on the bed. He opened it and found more recent dates. It was apparently started a week ago. He plopped onto the bed and began to scan over the pages.

"Meh… divorce… stupid sister… Xander is sexy… I want to him to bone me…" He stopped and wondered why a squishy femme would want a male to remove her bones until more reading gave him an idea what the word meant.

"Why can't she just say 'interfacing'? Ss-stupid squishy!"

He was about to turn the page when a sound caught his attention. Tossing the notebook aside, he stealthily made his way to the door. Was the Slayer or one of the other femme's home?

Footsteps were heard coming up the stairs and he tensed up and then relaxed when the footsteps passed the door. He then heard the door open to one of the other rooms as well as a male speaking.

"Good thing the Slayer's not here, she'd probably dust me in a heartbeat…"

Quietly making his way out of the room, he went to peek inside the Slayer's room, keeping his body in the hallway. Inside the room was a tall male squishy in a long black coat. The small boat tilted his head to the side in confusion. Why was its hair like that? Was it exposed to radiation?

Shrugging it off, he ran a scan on the male and was extremely confused when he completed it. By all standards this human should be dead. His body temperature was way too low; he had no heartbeat, no respiration or anything. And why wasn't he showing up in the mirror on the dresser?

Continuing to observe the human, he barely contained a disgusted squeal when the squishy reached into a basket containing recently worn clothing, pulled out what he knew as squishy-aft covering and inhaled deeply and then moaning in arousal. Primus, squishies were disgusting! Squishy femmes used those to cover their waste disposal ports! Why would anyone want to smell that?! And, oh Primus, did he just lick it!?

--

"Oh God, that's what I'm talking about…"

Spike let out another moan as he vigorously breathed in the scent of Buffy's underwear, every now and the flicking his tongue over them. Oh how he wished he could taste her properly and not secondhand but he'd have to take what he could get.

Breathing her scent in one more time, he put the purple undies back into the basket and then moved to her bed when his nose suddenly picked up something else. His brow furrowed. It was a lot like that same smell he had picked up while looking for Dawn as well as when he had left the Bronze.

And it was right behind him…

Quickly whipping around, he stopped and blinked at the robotic face, slightly resembling a praying mantis, in the door way.

"Bloody hell?" Spike asked in shocked confusion.

The little robot hissed and quickly drew out guns. Spike barely managed a look of shock when his midsection was riddled with bullets. The vampire howled in pain and fell to the floor.

Frenzy scuttled over to the body and shook his fist at it. "S-stupid squishy maggot…"

A pale hand shot up and grasped the tiny bot by the throat.

Frenzy squeaked in shock and his optics widened when the supposedly dead human lifted his head and brought him inches away from his now swollen face, glaring at him with feral yellow eyes.

"Oh shit." The little Decepticon squeaked.

The let out a growl that was reserved for large cats and wolves and bared his now sharp teeth at him.

"Got that right, you little poofter."

S.S.S.

Okay, I think I'll stop here. I just wanted to get something out so you guys wouldn't forget about me. I've also noticed a big decline in reviews… (pouts) C'mon guys, I'm sorry for the lack of updates but seriously, your reviews, be they good or bad are what keep me going.

Oh, by the way, I've redone chapter 6… actually, I redid it a while ago I just forgot to mention it in other chapters. And I've changed Dawn's journal entry in chapter 4. Okie dokey. That's all I wanted to say.


	16. Selfish part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers the movie or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Transformers belongs to Hasbro while the movie belongs to Michael Bay. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

A/N: Man! This took way longer than I thought it would and I am so sorry everyone! This was one chapter but it was two long so I broke it into two.

_What the slag! What the slag! What the slag!!  
_  
That was all that went through Frenzy's processes as he stared at the dead squishy that currently held him by the throat in a death grip. He tried to twist loose, but the strength this thing held was beyond a mere fleshling.

"Y-you should be dead! I-I sh-shot you! The little mech sputtered in shock.

"Lot of good that did you, huh, you little wanker?" The blonde growled, amber eyes flashing.

The little Decepticon was unable to reply since he was suddenly thrown into a wall. He squealed in shock and pain and before he was able to get up, the dead human's foot pressed itself into the back of his neck.

"Now, you little sodder…" He growled. "Who's your maker? I know you little robots have master creators or something of the sort. Who's yours and why'd he send ya here?" Amber eyes widened for a quick moment as a thought went through the vampires head. "You're from that bloody Initiative, aren't ya?!"

When Frenzy didn't answer he earned a hard kick to the side of the head. "Answer me, ya little poofter!"

Deciding he finally had enough; the little bot extracted his guns and shot the vampire in the leg. The blonde let out a cry of pain, stumbling backwards. Taking advantage of the situation, Frenzy quickly got to his feet and shot four shurikens out of his chest, each of them lodging into the blonde's chest. He then took off down the hall. He didn't even make it to the stairs when a battle axe swung down, barely missing his head.

"Oh… SHIT!!"

S.S.S.S

"I'll have to get an operation… And there's a good chance I'll be fine."

Dawn sat numbly as her mother told her everything. After being called in, her mother had told her that the doctors discovered she had a brain tumor on the left side of her brain. She had, of course, broken into tears upon hearing those words "I have a tumor" come out of her mother's mouth. Somehow hearing the news from her mother made it much worse than hearing it from a twenty-something foot tall alien robot.

"Dawnie honey, don't cry." Joyce said sadly, sitting up to pull her daughter into a warm embrace. "I'm going to be just fine. After all, I put up with you and your sister, this'll be cake."

Dawn managed a chuckle through the tears as she hugged the woman back. Pulling back, she gave Joyce a shaky smile. "I know you will, Mom."

Giving her youngest a tender smile, Joyce stroked Dawn's hair. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah…" Dawn took a deep breath to keep from crying again. "I love you too, Mom."

The two embraced again and only pulled away when a soft knock came from the closed door.

"It's me." Buffy's voice called. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come in sweetie." Joyce said and the short blonde entered the room.

Taking one look at her sister's tear-streaked face, Buffy rushed over and pulled her sister into a hug.

"It's going to be okay, Dawnie."

Dawn hugged the blonde back and sighed. Well, it was finally out in the open. Everyone knew now. Well, probably not everyone, but Buffy, Riley and her mother knew and soon the Scoobies would know too. Another sigh escaped her as relief filled her. Now she didn't have to shoulder this burden anymore. Maybe now she could get on with her life.

As soon as that thought went through her head, her eyes widened and her stomach lurched in disgust.

_Oh God! What kind of selfish bitch am I?!_

Letting go of her sister, Dawn quickly got to her feet and rushed out of the hospital room.

"Dawn?" Joyce called worried and exchanged a troubled look with Buffy.

"I'll get her." The Slayer said, giving her mom's hand a squeeze before heading into the hallway.

The Slayer barely took two steps before she ran into her boyfriend.

"What happened in there?" Riley asked. "Dawn just came out and ran down the hall. I asked what was wrong but she just said to leave her alone."

Buffy shrugged in confusion. "I don't know…I think it was just too much for her." She sighed and pushed a hand through her hair. "Which way did she go?"

"She went that way, to the girl's room I think…"

Buffy was about to make her way down the hall when the whole Scooby gang rounded the corner.

"What're you guys doing here?" Buffy asked though she was grateful that her friends were there in her time of need.

"Well, we were worried about you." Willow said as she hugged her friend. "You looked pretty broken up when you left the Magic Box, so we're here to be the super glue that puts the pieces back together."

"The only one who really needs to emotion glue is Dawn. She took off down the hall a little bit ago…"

"I'll go find her." Riley offered and headed off down the hall.

"Why?" Xander asked, wrapping an arm around the Slayer. "Is it serious?"

With a sigh, Buffy began to explain her mother's condition.

S.S.S.S.S

"So, you think she'll be okay?"

Mikaela glanced over at her boyfriend as Bumblebee drove them down the freeway. She didn't have to ask who he meant.

"I don't know she's really going through a lot right now." The girl mused. "And as for her mom… hopefully they got to it early."

"I still do not know much about human illnesses," Ratchet began, "however, it seems like she has a real chance if it is removed soon."

"I hope so…" Mikaela sighed. "I mean, being in the middle of that these past two days… And Mrs. Summers is so nice… I really hope she's okay… Dawn's sister kind of scared me at first…"

"Well, you are her sister's mate and it is the duty of the eldest to protect the youngest."

Sam snickered at the voice that came through the speakers and Mikaela blinked and quirked a brow. "Oh, you think you're funny, huh, Bee?"

"Bumblebee!" Ratchet hissed. "What did I tell you about talking? Do you want to speak properly again? Hold it until I finish your repairs!"

"_You're a big meanie! You're a meaner!" _Bumblebee said as his engine gave an irritated rev.

"What's with all the _Barnyard Animals_ quotes?" Sam muttered to Mikaela who shrugged.

"One of you should check on her tomorrow." Optimus said. He rather liked Dawn. She was sweet, reliable, capable and rather amusing. Her quick thinking and concern for their wellbeing in the face of her own emergency had proven her to be a wonderful ally.

"I'll call her tomorrow after school." Mikaela said and Sam nodded.

"Me too."

Bringing up the rear in the procession of Autobots, Ironhide was rather quiet. His processors kept going over the weekend with the girl. He had little doubt that her mother would be all right, Dawn was a strong girl, that he already knew even if she didn't believe it herself. He could also see a lot of self-doubt in the youngling. Apparently her older siblings must've really done a number on her self-esteem. But, he did help her get a little of it back, or so she said when she chose to spend her day with them at the Bluff.

"_Oh yeah, Ironhide?"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Did I say thanks for helping me out?"_

"_Are you referring to earlier when I took you and your mother to the human medics?"_

"_No." She had shaken her head. "But, really… thanks so much for that, like, in the biggest way ever." Her expression had saddened for a bit and Bumblebee had reached down to gently stroke her back with his thumb. She had smiled and squeezed the youngling's finger. "Thanks, Bee."_

"It's gonna be all right." _Jennifer Lopez's voice wafted through the scout's speakers. How did Ironhide know who she was? Sarah Lennox loved to torture him with femme music whenever she took him and the sparkling grocery shopping. Or at least is seemed like torture. _

_But, after regaining her composer, Dawn turned back up to him. "I'm talking about when we first met… You told me not to take any of Buffy's crap anymore. Well, I took your advice." She smiled brightly at him and snickered. "And man, did it ever feel good! She was all giving me the third degree when you first dropped me off and I was nervous at first, trying to think of something and then I thought of what you said and I thought 'Screw this! I'm not taking her mess anymore!' and I told her to mind her own business and to get out of my room and the look on her face was priceless!" She made a small squealing noise he had associated with happy femmes and the extremely animated way she moved as she spoke made his mouth plates quirk upwards, although she talked a little too much._

"_Dawn, do you think it was wise to speak to your sister that way?" Optimus had asked her and she scoffed._

"_She'll get over it. She thought it was me being defensive about my new girlfriend." She cast a quick smirk at Mikaela who shrugged._

"_I just didn't want our relationship out in the open…" The older girl snickered while Sam pretended to cry._

"_Home wrecker…"_

_Dawn had giggled a bit more before turning to look back up at Ironhide. "But, seriously, if I didn't say thanks before, I'm saying it now." She reached over and patted his foot. "Thanks."_

Looking back on that as well as the other times he had spoken with her, he would've slightly smiled if he were in his actual form. He was going to miss her.

_Wait, hold the communicator…_

He was going to miss her? Well, it wasn't that hard to understand. She was a very good ally to them all and was certain to be a good friend.

He decided that when Sam and Mikaela came down to visit her, he would make a quick drop as well… unless Sarah wanted to torture him with shopping and Nora Jones.

When the merged onto a different interstate, Ironhide thought he felt something. A strange sense that Dawn was not okay, that she was in distress.

_Of course she's in distress, you slagging idiot. Her mother is ill._

But, why did he get a feeling that she was hating herself right now as well?

S.S.S.S

Clutching at the sink, her knuckles turning bone white, Dawn sobbed heavily as she pressed her forehead against the cold glass of the mirror.

_What kind of crap-ass person gets all relieved when their Mom's probably going to die?!_

Lifting her head, she gazed at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red, as was her nose. She looked ready to crumble at any minute.

_You don't even care that something's wrong with her! All you care about is yourself!_

Her lips trembled even more as Buffy's words came back to her. Damn, her sister was right. She really was a selfish brat. She actually felt glad that she didn't have to worry about slipping anymore while her mother was worrying about whether or not she would make it within the next few months, or weeks or whatever.

What was that Ironhide had said? She was cunning, honorable, capable and strong-willed?

_Yeah right, if you say so, dude._

The girl in the mirror didn't look like a cunning, honorable, capable and strong-willed girl. She looked like a selfish bitch.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Dawn?" Riley's voice called from the other side of the door. "What's wrong?"

"Leave me alone." She said sulkily.

"Dawn, come on. Your Mom and Buffy are worried about you. And everyone's here, so could you please come out?"

With a sigh, she yanked some paper towel and dabbed her eyes. "In a minute…"

As she fixed herself up, her mind flickered back to the Autobots and her two new friends. She suddenly wished they were here. Then she could have someone to talk to about this. She'd give anything to be back inside of Bumblebee, with Sam and Mikaela, or, just inside of Ironhide by herself.

But, they weren't here. And she had no way to talk to them right now, so she'd have to go it alone. She couldn't tell the ones outside, they'd ask how she knew and she didn't know if she was creative enough to think of something believable.

"Dawn?" Riley asked again.

"I'm pooping." The young girl replied as she moved away from the sink and pressed her back against the wall, sliding down to sit. She didn't want to face anyone right now, not anyone she couldn't talk to about this.

S.S.S.S.S

Buffy stood there, arms folded and eyes downcast. She had just finished telling everyone her mother's condition. Everyone stood in shocked silence.

"Oh God, Buffy…" Willow cried, pulling her friend into yet another hug along with Xander.

"Will she be okay?" The carpenter asked.

"They said…" Buffy paused to wipe a tear from her eyes, "that she has a real chance… which is one in three…" She pushed a hand through her hair and bit her lip to keep from crying again.

"Hey, a chance is still a chance, though, right?" Willow said helpfully. "So, don't go getting all negative and stuff. Save that for when you really know if there's something to be about."

"Yeah, like screwing up in the most royal of ways…" Anya muttered with a look a Giles.

The others all gave Anya a look while Buffy's brow wrinkled. "What's she talking about?"

"It's nothing." Xander said a little too quickly. "She's just feeling bad because she broke a really expensive thing-a-mobob. No big whoop."

Anya recoiled in confusion. "What?! I did not. I wasn't the one who-"

"Anya, please," Giles said in annoyance. "Buffy doesn't need to know about your… clumsiness at the moment."

The redhead fumed at his words. "I didn't break anything! I would never break an expensive item. You just-"

"Anya." Willow said sternly and then flicked her eyes to Buffy. "Not now."

"No." Anya said forcefully. "Why do I have to be made to look like an idiot just so you can shelter Buffy when we're all in real danger?" She then turned to Buffy, moving Xander out of her way. "Buffy, I know you're going through a crap load of cap right now, but something big happened. And they all want me to shut up so they can protect your feelings but death and destruction are little more important. So, if I make your day worse, I'm sorry but I want to live."

The Slayer blinked but nodded for Anya to continue. "Okay… what happened?"

"The evil demon slut was at the Magic Box. She didn't hurt anyone." Anya said quickly when Buffy's eyes widened. "She just made off with some really powerful mojo items because Giles sold them to her."

The Slayer's eyes widened and she shot an accusatory look at her Watcher shrank back defensively.

"It's not like I could've known it was her. I mean h-how could I?" He then gave her a sheepish look. "Well, I believe I … overcharged her if it's any consolation."

"No, you didn't. You undercharged her." Anya scoffed and then rolled her eyes. "If things weren't bad enough…"

"So, what do these things do? Buffy asked, returning her attention back to Anya.

"They make a monster. The Sobekites were reptile worshippers. And their High Priest, Khul, he had great power. He made an amulet with transmogrifying crystal."

"Trans-what?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"That's making a living thing into a different kind of thing. "Willow explained.

"The marks on the stone Giles sold to her-" Anya began.

"… she left." With Giles corrected irritably.

"-pretty much said she's going to change a cobra." The ex-demon continued with a 'yeah right' look to Giles.

"Why?" Buffy asked and Anya shrugged.

"Didn't figure that part out. But, you might need to make with the Slaying."

"Anya, Buffy can't just go and-" Willow began but Buffy cut her off.

"No. She's right. I have to do this. And I need something to beat up." She turned to Anya and nodded. "Thanks for giving it to me straight."

"Here to help. Want to live." Anya returned.

"But, what about your Mom?" Xander asked.

Buffy sighed and then went into her mother's hospital room.

"Did you find Dawn?" Joyce asked and her brow furrowed when she saw the guilty look on her eldest child's face. "Uh-oh. What is it?"

"Mom… I really hate to do this, but-" Buffy began and Joyce sighed.

"Some evil thing is out there and you have to go take care of it?" When Buffy looked down and nodded, Joyce gave her a small smile. "I understand. Go, declaw, or defang or de…whatever… I'll be fine. You just be careful."

Buffy gave Joyce a smile and reached over to hug her. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetie." The older woman patted the Slayer on the back before pulling away. "Now, go on."

After a quick kiss to her mother's cheek, Buffy left and made her way to the elevator.

"There's a battle axe in the trunk, Buff." Xander said, tossing Buffy an extra set of keys.

"Thanks." She turned back to the others. "Tell Dawn something's going down." She then tossed a pleading look at the girls. "If you can, try and pry her out of the bathroom. I don't think Riley's having much luck."

"I got this one." Tara said and headed off to the bathroom as Buffy got onto the elevator.

S.S.S.S

"I can't believe I didn't think to come here."

With a quick bound over the locked gate, Rina landed neatly over the fence and into the Sunnydale Zoo.

"I gotta hurry; I need to find a snake before Glory has my ass for-"

"Too late, stupid."  
Rina froze and turned around to see Glory already coming from the snake cage, carrying a huge cobra. It hissed and writhed in her grasp, obviously unhappy about being captive.

"Your Greatness…"Rina began but Glory cut her off.

"Save it, loser." She spat. "You're in big trouble when we get back. The only reason I'm not killing you is because you're useful." She looked over at Dreg. "You got that incantation ready?"

Dreg nodded. "Yes, now all I need is-"

"-to wait patiently for ass to get kicked after I'm done with super-skank?"

Everyone looked up to see the Slayer standing the roof of the refreshment stand. She leapt down and wasted no time. She easily took out Dreg and Jinx, no problem. The two were left lying on the ground unconscious. She made her way to the two blondes, eyes widening when she saw Rina.

"What the Hell? Didn't I kill you?!"

"Nope, that was my sister." Rina smiled and turned to her mistress. "Glory, if I take her out, am I off the hook?"

"Mm-mm." Glory said negatively and the lizard demon sighed.

"Damn…" she whined before she caught a punch in the face from Buffy.

Rina found herself in a bit of a pickle. She was not as skilled in combat as her sister was. So, it was rather quickly that she found herself with a face full of asphalt.

"Ugh!!" Glory growled. "Useless pieces of-" A kick from Buffy cut off her tirade.

"Hey!" Glory whined. "No-" Another kick to the face. ", fair!" She was then punched in the stomach and she stumbled back. "Attacking me when," Buffy punched her in the face again, "I'm not even," another kick to the face. "Looking!"

Buffy reached forward and grabbed the snake out of the goddess's hands, flinging it off to the side. At that moment, Glory grabbed her and slammed her into a wall.

"Y'know…" She began and steadily punched Buffy over and over. "That whole punching me when I'm trying to talk is really rude!" She kicked the blonde in the midsection, sending her flying into some benches.

A few yards away, Rina was slowly pulling herself to her feet. She winced at the pain in her arm when a slithering noise caught her attention. Looking up, she saw the snake going into some bushes.

"Oh, no you don't…" She smirked and grabbed the snake, shoving it into her purse.

"Dreg, Jinx…" she ran over and shook the two minions awake. "C'mon. Get to my car. We'll take it back to the warehouse. Come on!"

The three got up and headed to the fence. Glory looked up just as Buffy got to her feet.

"What the Hell?" She asked the three. If those losers even thought of deserting her…

"We're taking it back, my Goddess." Rina explained.

"Oh. Okie-OW!" Buffy had just grabbed her by the head and rammed her face into a lamp post. "Bitch!" She reared her head back, striking Buffy in the face, sending her flying backwards. "Don't fuck with the hair!"

She stalked over and gave Buffy's limp form one last good kick, sending her flying into a vendor cart. With a satisfied toss of her hair, Glory left the Slayer lying there.

"Rini, I call shotgun!" She called.

Buffy sat up and winced at the throbbing in her muscles. She looked up and sighed in irritation when she saw everyone was gone.

"Great…"

S.S.S.S

"Dawn… I know you're worried, but I'm sure she'll be just fine."

The well meaning words or the comforting arm of Tara around her did nothing to help her. The shy witch had come into the bathroom to find Dawn sitting on the floor, back against the wall. Tears streaked her cheeks as she stared at nothing with a look of anguish on her face.

"Dawn…" Tara turned the teenager's face to look at her. "I know you're scared but try to think positively."

"Yeah… whatever…" The girl muttered in a bitter, broken voice and Tara sighed, not sure what to do.

"Well, at least go back and sit with your Mom. Visiting hours are almost over and Buffy had to go and kill some new baddy. Shouldn't she at least see one of her girls?"

A look of realization flashed across her face and she pulled herself up and sighed. "Let me wash my face first."

After rinsing her face and drying it with a paper towel, she headed out the door and then down the hall. She walked into her mother's room and plastered a smile on her face.

"Hey, Mom…" She said softly. "Sorry I took off… It… was just…"

"I understand, sweetie…" Joyce said gently and pulled her into a hug.

As Dawn hugged her back, all she could think was that she was so undeserving to have such an awesome woman for a mom.

s.s.s

As soon as Tara had come out of the bathroom she nearly bumped into Riley. And judging by the look on his face, he wasn't too happy.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked gently.

"Buffy went off to go kill some snake thing?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, but I'm sure she'll handle it." She said enthusiastically and he let out a bitter sigh.

"She always does."

Tara then knew what was wrong, or at least she figured she did. "You're upset she didn't take you?"

He gave her a wry half smile. "That obvious, huh?"

"Mm-hmm, little bit." She said with a sheepish smile of her own.

"It's not that she didn't take me, she didn't even bother to tell me." He pushed a hand through his head and sighed. "It's like she doesn't even need me or anything… I'm starting to feel like the rebound guy."

"I don't think you're the rebound guy..." Tara said gently. "I mean, you're the guy who came and helped her along after the whole Angel thing and..."

"Like the rebound guy?" Riley asked sardonically and she winced.

"Bad phrasing... erm..." She looked around helplessly and then brightened. "Well, she just got back. You... you should talk to her about it."

Riley nodded and strode up to Buffy who was debriefing everyone on the attack.

"She made off with a snake from the zoo." Buffy told Giles. "So, now she's about to make a monster with it and I have no idea where she is, where it is or what Glory plans on doing with it…" She leaned back against the wall and let out an irritated sigh.

"Glory?" Giles asked.

"That's what this other irritating blonde called her. She looked a lot like the bitch I killed earlier, but with a bad dye job. She was her sister, but she didn't seem too sad that I whacked her…"

"No sisterly love among demons…" Xander shrugged.

"But, the Glory got away with it and I have no idea where she is or anything…" She let out a sound of pure frustration.

"Don't worry, Buffy." Riley said, pulling her into a hug. "It'll be fine. I'm right here for you."

Buffy hugged him back briefly for a moment and then pulled away. "I… need to get back in there." She said, going into her mother's room while Riley just watched her leave, helplessly.

S.S.S.S

"So, did you and your friend have fun today?"

Dawn was currently lounging on the bed with her mother recapping her day with her new friends, trying to hide her self-loathing.

"Yeah, we went to the house, got food then met some other friends and just hung out."

"So… who was that boy that came with you?" Joyce asked teasingly.

Dawn giggled despite herself. "His name's Sam and he's Mikaela's boyfriend, so, nothing going there, Mom."

"Hmmm. Disappointed?" Joyce asked with a sly smile.

"Mom!"

"Well, what? I'm your mother. It's my job to grill you on your love life."

"Or lack thereof…" The teenager cracked.

"So, these other friends... Were any of them boys?" Joyce asked and Dawn bit the inside of her lip.

_Eh... considering they're all pretty guy-like without the guy parts I guess so..._

"Yeah, all of them were." She said after a minute.

"Dawn, I don't know if I'm comfortable with you hanging out with a group of boys when you're only one of two girls." Her mother said and the teenager let out a small chuckle.

"Mom, trust me, I'm _so_ not any of their types..."

"What are we talking about?"

Both figures on the bed looked up to see Buffy striding into the room.

"Dawn apparently hung out with a bunch of boys today..." Joyce said with a disapproving look at Dawn.

"And they are totally not my type..." The young girl sighed.

"Cut her some slack, Mom." Buffy said causing both mother and sister to look up at her questioningly. "I'm pretty sure if they're not Dawn's type, then they're not her type.

Buffy gave her sister a secret smile, indicating she knew anything referred to as a 'he' was not her little sister's type. Dawn just lightly looked away.

Joyce glanced between her two daughters, taking in the secret smile from Buffy and the glance away from Dawn.

"Oh... Oh! I understand..." She said finally and both pairs of eyes snapped to her.

"You do?" They asked at the same time.

"Yeah, I think I get it." She said and then turned to Dawn. "Dawnie?"

"Hmm?" The young girl squeaked and glanced at Buffy who watched intently.

"Do you like one of them but... What's the phrase now...? Does he have 'sugar in his tank'?"

Somehow that phrase mixed with the fact that her new friends turned into cars made Dawn double over in laughter while Buffy just looked relieved.

"As far as I know... no." The teenager managed after the laughter died down.

Joyce just sat there confused as Dawn's mirth dwindled down and Buffy just scratched the back of her head. It was then she noticed the extra scrapes that had appeared on her eldest child's face.

"Buffy, what happened?" She asked in alarm.

The blonde jolted at the worried look on her mother's face and the concerned look on Dawn's and sighed. And here she was trying not to worry her family. "It's nothing... just a few lucky hits is all..." She gave Joyce a reassuring smile. "Nothing a little extra speedy Slayer healing won't fix."

Joyce opened her mouth to speak but at that moment, the doctor came in.

"I'm sorry, girls, but visiting hours are over." The man said and both daughters sighed.

"Bye, Mom. We'll be back tomorrow." Buffy said, getting up to give her mother a hug.

"See you tomorrow, Mom..." Dawn said as she hugged her mother, trying to keep her tears at bay. When did they get there? They weren't there before.

"Bye girls..." Joyce sighed as she watched her daughters leave the room and then rested back against the pillow.

After leaving the room, the other Scoobies said goodbye. Xander offered to take the Summers girls home.

"Where's Riley?" Buffy had asked.

"He said he really had to take off and that he'd call you later." Willow explained.

Buffy looked a little concerned for a moment but put it behind her when Dawn stood next to her.

"Can we go home now?"

"Yeah, sure." Buffy said and headed to the elevator, holding onto her sister's hand.

A/N: And here's the of what was orginally one chapter. Next part right ahead.


	17. Selfish part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers the movie or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Transformers belongs to Hasbro while the movie belongs to Michael Bay. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

A/N: Man! This took way longer than I thought it would and I am so sorry everyone! This was one chapter but it was two long so I broke it into two.

S.S.S.

"Frenzy should have reported back by now."

Shelly blinked as she sat down in her easy chair and glanced over at her window. Barricade was there, face near the glass. She let out an irritated sigh and curled herself up.

"Yeah, true." She muttered.

The demon really did not want to talk right now. She was still seething from her encounter with her sister. But, she figured she'd better ease Sir Inpatient's concerns.

"She's probably not even at her house yet. She might be boning that soldier boy of hers or something..."

The enforcer blinked his optics in confusion. "Why would she want to remove the bones of a human she apparently cares for? It makes no sense."

"Not in human culture, at least." Shelly mused. "Boning means screwing..." She sighed when he still looked confused. "Interfacing or whatever the fuck you call it..." She got up and moved to the kitchen.

"Why can't they just say that…?" Barricade wondered for a moment and then shrugged, turning back to the demon. "What is our next plan of action? Or do you even have one?"

"Of course, I have one, you dolt! I'm just mapping it out." She hissed as she pulled out a bottle of Grey Goose and drank it straight from the bottle while one of his optics tilted upwards, mimicking a raised brow.

"You're getting hammered."

She turned and blinked at him. "Hammered? When'd you learn drunk slang?"

"I was stuck in an alley in Las Vegas." He reminded her. "Inebriated humans filtered through there at every given moment."

"Good point." She took another swig.

"So is that your plan, to get completely slag-faced and do nothing?" He growled at her and she sighed.

"Okay, I'm getting a little t-tired of your-" She started, alcohol already taking effect but stopped when she heard loud knocking on the door. She headed to the door, bottle still in hand. "I mean, really…. You don't have to such a jerk… I'm just a little on edge and I need…" She opened the door to reveal a young man holding a large pizza in his hand.

"Okay, that's ten ninety-five plus tax and-"

Shelly's free quickly shot forward and snapped the boy's neck. He tail then whipped out to take the pizza as she let the body fall to the ground. "Thanks." She said to the corpse. She placed the pizza and vodka on the table and then dragged the corpse inside to the window.

"Toss that somewhere, will you?" She said as she sat down and pulled out a slice. "Ooh! Pineapple and ham!"

"Aren't you going to eat it?" Barricade asked, gesturing at the dead boy.

"Nope. I'm good right here." She said as she licked sauce from her fingers. "Besides, I don't like boys... they're all hairy and stuff..." She shivered in disgust.

Barricade reached in with two fingers, plucked up the corpse and tossed it in the alley. He then turned back to Shelly who seemed a little calmer now that she was eating. "I don't recall you ordering that."

She finished off her slice, nearly at the crust. "I didn't…Mmm! Stuffed crust at that!" She crossed her legs and turned to Barricade. "Now, I do have a plan, I just need a little booze and food to help me think…"

"You already ate a squishy sparkling…"

"Hey, that was a snack. Sometimes I like a little human food." She snickered as his face twisted in revulsion. "You still spazzing that I ate a baby?"

"No, human fuel is revolting…"

Shelly snickered a bit and proceeded to tell him her next move, while two apartment buildings down, a group of teenagers was wondering why their pizza hadn't come yet.

S.S.S

"All right, here we are. You guys gonna be okay?"

Buffy smiled at Xander and patted his arm. "We'll be fine. Thanks for the ride home."

The brunette smiled at his friend before turning to the girl in the backseat. "You okay back there, Dawnster?"

He was answered with a soft snore. He smiled lightly and reached back to ruffle the girl's hair. "Poor kid's had the day from Hell… minus making out with a really hot chick…" He turned to Buffy. "So, how long has Dawn been gay?"

"Bi… and a few weeks." Buffy answered. "I'm going to open the door, when I do, bring her in for me, would you? I don't want to wake her up."

"No problem."

Buffy exited the car and headed up the walkway as Xander got out and moved to the back to get Dawn. He was just about to open her door when a crash coming from the Summers' home made both Scoobies freeze.

"Buff…?" Xander asked nervously.

"Stay with Dawn…" The Slayer ordered and Xander nodded.

Buffy made her way to the door, tensed for a fight. The door suddenly burst open, sending the Slayer flying to the ground.

"What the Hell is that?!" Xander cried when a small silver robot with bright blue optics scurried off the porch, stepping on Buffy in the process, with Spike right on its heels.

"C'mere ya little shit!" The blonde vampire growled as he chased the little robot, also stepping on Buffy as she tried to get back up.

"OW!" The Slayer cried and Spike hollered as the chip activated.

"Buggering son of a whore!" The British vampire screamed as he gripped his head in pain. "Damn it, Slayer! Ya made me lose it!"

"Spike, the Hell?! I'll punch you later!" Buffy growled as she got to her feet. "Xander! Get Dawn out of here!"

Xander quickly gunned the engine and took off, the sudden movement shocking Dawn awake.

"Xander?!" She squealed, looking around in fear. Whenever you woke up in a speeding car in Sunnydale it was never good. "What is it? Vamps?"

"Don't worry… some little icky thing attacked Buffy… it was pretty little, so it should be over soon. She just wanted me to get you out of here."

Dawn said nothing but turned to look out the back window, but could only make out her sister and Spike. She had no idea what that other thing was.

Frenzy looked back and squealed when he saw another squishy, the Slayer, coming toward him at top speed. Skidding to a stop and whirling around, the little bot quickly launched two shurikens at the girl before taking off at top speed.

"Shit!"

Buffy quickly dodged the star things and gave chase again. "Damn it! I'm sick of fucking robots!" She screamed and bolted after the small robot, intent on ripping it apart and turning it into a microwave.

Frenzy looked back to see the small blonde girl following after him and the dead squishy was now getting over his headache and began to chase as well. Slag it! He had to get out of here and fast.

He noticed headlights up ahead and rejoiced. An escape! The car flew past and he leapt onto it, clutching the grill with one hand and flipping the squishes off with the other.

"Stupid squishies!" He cheered as the car turned the corner.

Buffy stopped running, knowing she would never catch it now. She bent over, hands on her knees to catch her breath just as Spike ran up to her.

"Nasty little bugger that thing was…" He grumbled, not needing to catch his breath since he didn't need to breathe.

"What the Hell was that thing?" Buffy panted and then drew herself up to glare at Spike. "And why the Hell were you in my house!?"

"Well-" He didn't get to answer due to the dainty fist clocking him in the face. "Hey!" He whined. "I was just out for a stroll when I caught the whiff of that little bugger in your house. Figured I'd check out what it was, make sure it didn't cause any trouble."

The blonde tilted her head to the side and arched her brows in clearly non-believing fashion. "This coming from the vampire who hates me and everyone I love and would like nothing more than for some little robot mantis thing to kill us all?"

"Hey there, now… I actually like your Mum. She's the only one who's ever been decent to me. And your brat sister isn't half bad either. It's you and your sidekicks I can't bloody tolerate." Spike defended quickly, refusing to say that he also cared for the Slayer as well.

Buffy opened her mouth to retort but stopped. It did make sense. Joyce was nice to the vampire even though Buffy wished she wasn't. And Dawn always did find Spike interesting. She thought she had a crush on the vampire at first, but her recent make out session with the pretty older brunette had dispelled that fear.

"All right, say I believe you… What happened when you found it?"

"Well, came in… the little bugger was going through your stuff… Don't know what it was looking for. Then shot me a bunch of times. Didn't do much except piss me off. We tussled a bit, broke stuff… Oh yeah, that God awful vase in the living room, it's a jigsaw puzzle now."

"Thank God, I hated that thing…" Buffy muttered before turning back to the vampire. "Did it say anything? Anything about what it wanted?"

Spike thought for a minute. "It called me squishy… spazzed when it saw I didn't die from getting' shot a bunch of times and… it said something about a key…" He stopped when he saw Buffy tense up. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" She said after a minute. "I'm fine… it's just been a hard day. Mom's really sick… She has a brain tumor… She's going to be staying overnight again for recovery since she had the biopsy…" Why she was opening to the vampire, she didn't know.

"Oh…" Spike muttered. "Sorry to hear that… But, I wouldn't worry. Your mum's a tough bird. She's gotta be to put up with a tart like you and that bite-sized headache sister of yours. She'll be fine."

Buffy looked up at the vampire and scrunched her brow. "Is this a Spike comforting thing?"

"Yeah, something like that…"

Buffy scoffed and turned to head back to the house, Spike on her heels.

"So, you got robots after you now, hmm?" He continued even when Buffy blatantly ignored him. "First that Molech thing having the hots for Red, then that Mr. Rogers knock-off going for your mum and now robo-mantis rifling through your undies..."

Buffy stopped and froze. "It went through my underwear drawer?!" She shivered. "Eww!"

Spike shrugged. "Guess even a robot's got to get its jollies somehow. Funny thing is it smelled familiar. Like I caught a whiff of that thing before, or something like it."

Buffy stopped again and turned to him, eyes serious. "When? Where?"

"Oh…" Spike drew himself up haughtily. "All eager to talk to me now, is it?" He let out a sigh. "Well, it just so happens that I'm not in the talking mood."

"What do you want, Spike?" The Slayer hissed.

Spike let his eyes roam up and down the blonde's body suggestively and his lips curled into a smirk, which was quickly punched off of his face by the blonde in question.

"You asked what I wanted, Slayer." The vampire chucked, holding his bleeding nose. "It's been a while since I've had a good rough and tumble…. But a bit of cash wouldn't hurt."

Eyes narrowing, she dug into her back pocket and pulled out a few bills. "Now, what do you know?"

"Not much, but not that long ago when you had me play bloodhound to find that brat sister of yours, I caught a whiff of something, going right down the street from your house, actually. It didn't smell like a demon but it damn sure wasn't from earth. It was about four of them, I gather. Then again when we finally caught up to the little bit."

The short blonde paled visibly and she took a few breaths to calm herself. "A bunch of those things were near my house…"

"Yeah, but there aren't any more…" Spike told her, trying to be reassuring and wanting to kick himself for it. And he was supposed to be the Big Bad… yeah, right.

Buffy debated with herself. She was wondering should she actually go inside the house. Spike said they weren't anymore, but then Spike was a liar. However, he seemed to actually care a bit for Dawn as well as her mom since they were the only ones who were ever nice to him at all. She couldn't stay with her friends. She didn't want to put them in any danger and if she ran every time something broke into her house and tried to do something, she'd never have a home.

But then, there was that big one. The cop car. What if that thing came to her house?

_Wait… I still have Xander's rocket launcher. He gives the best birthday gifts!_

Speaking of Xander, both he and Dawn came running up once it was safe to approach.

"What was that icky thing?" Xander asked and then noticed Spike. "And why is this icky thing here?"

"Piss off, worthless." Spike grumbled, lighting a cigarette.

"What? What happened?" Dawn asked, looking between the three figures.

"Some creepy little thing…" Buffy said. "Spike handled most of it but then it got away." She took a deep breath and nodded at the vampire. "Thank you, Spike."

Spike's eyes widened for a bit but then he quickly through on his indifferent façade. "Whatever, Slayer."

"Wait? Spike helped?" Xander asked incredulously.

"Yeah, more than you do at least." Spike smirked, wanting to piss Xander off.

The brunette stepped forward, ready to start with the vampire but Buffy held up a hand. "We don't have time for this." She said taking charge. "Spike, shut up." The vampire just shrugged as Buffy continued, turning to her sister who was looking more than a little afraid. "Come on. Let's go inside." She turned back to Spike. "You swear that there's nothing in there?"

"If I lied, you'd find out and stake me and it's not like I could bloody stop you with this buggering chip in my head." He let out a frustrated growl.

The Slayer seemed to take this as affirmation and went into the house, Dawn and Xander following. Spike shook his head and headed off to go hopefully kill something. But, ended up just back at his crypt, listening to Harmony prattle on about how she killed the sales girls at Macy's and got the cutest stuff, according to the twit.

And while she was babbling, he had a minute to think. He didn't notice it before because of the ringing in his head from the chip and then the cloud of emotion inside of him due to dealing with the Slayer, but that weird scent he caught whiffs of the night he was with Buffy, they seemed to cling to Dawn.

S.S.S.S

"So… your race…"

Starscream shifted his optic at the female demon, Gronx, who was currently ironing Glory's clothes. She did not look that much different from Jinx or Dreg, the only difference was that she had breasts which, as far as he could tell, stopped at the middle of her abdomen.

"Listen, you vermin." He hissed. "Just because I'm stuck waiting to take orders from that irritating slag bag and trapped by that lizard whore does not mean I'm going to lower myself by talking to you."

Gronx sniffed haughtily. "The only reason you live is because Glory wishes it. She apparently finds you useful. You could work to make your stay not so unpleasant."

He cycled an irritated intake. "And how the Pit would I do that, you louse?"

The female demon looked up at him and set the iron down. "Your race… engages in sexual intercourse, correct?" She tossed back her thinning hair and gave him a smile. "How about I get Glory to punch a hole through the barrier and-"

His optic widened in shocked disgust. "I would sooner beg your Glory to rip out my Spark!" He then turned his head to the wall. "Primus, save me! I'm getting offers from a vermin like this!"

"God! That bitch gets on my nerves!"

Starscream looked up to see Glory entering, her minions and his jailer shuffling after her. He could detect a hissing sound coming from Rina's bag and a scan concluded that she had found a cobra. Or Glory had and she was making her carry it.

"Gronx, what's the matter?" Jinx asked as his sister angrily folded clothes.

"I offered my services to that metallic moron and he turned me down while being most rude about it."

Glory strode in and looked up at Starscream. "Starry…" She said with a smile. "You won't make Gronxie a happy girl?"

The Seeker let out a disgusted grunt. "Not with a seventy foot rod, an energy shield and a vat of boiling acid."

"Now, that's harsh." The Goddess chuckled and then flopped onto the couch. "Oh yeah, Rini…"

"Yes?" The lizard asked fearfully.

"You're punishment is going to take place after the ritual is over." She then turned to Dreg and Jinx. "Start setting up, morns!"

The two quickly began setting up the magic circle. Rina swallowed the lump in her throat and stood before Glory, bowing her head. "What is my punishment?"

"You have to interface with Jinx." She said and Rina blinked in confusion.

"Milady, what's that mean?" She asked and Glory smirked before angling her head at Starscream.

"Tell her what it means, Starry!"

"It means to mate." He explained, relishing the horrified expression on his captor's face. Yes, even though it wasn't a bloody death, this would do for now.

"Mistress!" Rina whined in outrage. "Why…? And why are you using Cybertronian words?"

"It was his idea." Glory said, spreading out and picking up the spell to go over it. "I was a little frazzled and couldn't think of anything and the Starscream goes 'Have her interface with the disgusting toad who lusts after her though I don't understand why.' and I'm like 'What's interfacing?' and then he's all 'As these irritating humans say "banging". I cracked up so hard after that! You should've been there!"

Rina just stared at Glory in disbelief before turning to Starscream, hatred written on every part of her face.

"I hate you!"

"Likewise."

Rina growled and stormed off. Glory shook her head and called over to Jinx who was at the far end of the warehouse. "Jinxie, get ready! You're getting ass later!"

"From you, most ass-tastic one?!"

"Bitch, please!" Glory scoffed. "From, Rini. It's her punishment."

At that, Jinx looked hurt. "It is a punishment to lie with me?"

"You look in the mirror, dude?" Glory countered as she read over the scroll.

"It is ready." Dreg said finally before Jinx could whine further.

"Rini! Cobra! Now!" Glory snapped.

Starscream watched the whole scene with interest since this was the first time any of them had taken this much care into doing something.

His captor trudged toward her leader, eyes flicking hatefully toward him as she handed her the cobra. Glory then lowered the snake into a clay vase and her minion, Dreg handed her a strange green amulet which she held over the mouth of the vase, her expression was one of pure excitement.

"Chant!" She commanded and Dreg began to chant in an ancient language that Starscream did not know. But, after downloading it, he found it was Ancient Egyptian. The minion was speaking about a stone bathed in blood serving as a base, forming a vessel new and the gem was fire along with even more weirdness.

Glory began to chant in English.

"Sobek, grant the power that it may mold this wretched creature ... that it may be reborn ... that it may serve my will."

The chanting continued and Glory's expression then melted from one of excitement to one of irritation. "Why are this things so friggin' drawn out?!" She whined.

After sighing in exasperation, the spell continued. Starscream continued to watch, wondering exactly what they were trying to accomplish. But, as it wore on he noticed the vase beginning to shake and Glory broke into a huge grin.

"Scene!" She cried in excited delight.

Jinx, Gronx and Rina all inched over to get a good look but were careful to stay back.

"Cir hayyan win-hud!" Dreg commanded.

"Arise…" Glory's eyes were wide in anticipation.

"Cir hayyan win-hud!"

"Arise!" This time her face scrunched and she placed her hands on her hips in an annoyed fashion. "ARISE!"

The vase shook wildly, this way and that until it finally stopped. It then exploded, sending small chunks of hardened clay everywhere and a huge creature bursts from the vase. It looks like a cobra, but it had the shoulders, torso, arms and abdomen of a well-fit human male.

"Finally!" Glory sighed.

About thirty feet up, Starscream's lone optics was as widened to its limit. He kneeled down to get a better look at the snake creature that had once been an ordinary cobra. This woman could do that? But he had to remember that she was not a regular human. But, the language had been ancient Egyptian, a human language which would suggest that humans were able to do that as well.

_Maybe we underestimated the maggots just a bit…_

Glory made her way to the snake creature. "Spawn of Sobek!"

The monstrosity turned to her, staring at her adoringly as she placed her hands on its face. "The power is yours to see what is unseen. You know what I seek. I have given you form, now find my key." It hissed at her and she smiled as if she understood what it was saying. "Yes! Yes, yes. Seek it in the holy places. Let your vision guide you to its hiding place and return to me and tell me where it lies." She then arched a brow as it continued to stare at her in sheer devotion. "Like, now? Okay?"

With that, the creature nodded and quickly took off. Glory giggled and squealed excitedly. Now, she would have her key!

S.S.S.S.S

"Okay, the kitchen is now not a warzone and-" Dawn stopped when she saw Buffy and Xander asleep in the living room, her sister on the couch and her crush on the easy chair.

They had managed to tidy up the living room and dining room so it only looked like a wild frat party had taken place instead of a battle between a vampire and some weird thing. They never really told her what it was exactly, and considering it was the Hellmouth they were on, it was possible that they had no clue.

She darted up the stairs and came back with two Afghans and covered both of them. She stopped to study her sister. She really has been through a lot. First getting her butt kicked by some evil bitch, then some demon earlier and then the bitch again and she was still kicking. Her strength was so awesome. It was why she admired her and envied her all at the same time. It was that strength that had everyone flock to her and what made her so cool. And even with all of that she still thought of other people, putting others first.

_Unlike me, the selfish bitch who was just happy when everyone found out._

Tears welled into her eyes and she quickly ran upstairs to her room, tossing herself on the bed and sobbing into her pillow. She then lifted herself up and went back into the hall. She yanked the phone off of the hook and went back into her room. Pulling out the piece of paper in her back pocket, she began to dial and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hey, this is Mikaela, I'm not here. Leave me a message, okay? Bye."

Sighing, Dawn pressed the 'end' button and dialed another number.

"What's up? This is Sam. I'm not here. You know the drill."

She let out an irritated growl and pressed the 'end' button again. Why weren't their phones on?!

Flopping back onto her bed, she noticed her Hello Kitty clock and saw it was half past midnight. She had left them at around eight and it took four hours to get back to Nevada. They were probably falling into bed right now. And that sucked like no other because she really needed to talk to someone.

She reached over and clicked on her radio and fiddled with the dial. After a moment she stopped when she heard a familiar tune.

_Call me (call me) my love  
You can call me any day or night (Call me)_

That was that little tune Bee had cranked out right before they left. Blondie's "Call Me". How did she know that? Willow was a huge geek when it came to eighties music and played it a lot whenever Dawn hung out with the older girl.

She lifted up and stared at the phone thoughtfully while listening to the lyrics. And then began to dial a series of numbers.

There wasn't even a ringing. The voice just came on.

"Yes?"

She sighed in relief, so glad that she had someone to talk to.

"Hey… It's me, Dawn."

"Is something wrong? Are you in need of assistance?"

"No… Yes…" She sighed and lay back on her bed. "I… just need someone to talk to. I tried calling Sam and Mikaela and their phones were off…"

"Why didn't you contact Bumblebee? Usually younglings converse with other younglings when something is bothering them."

"His vocal thingy is messed up and I didn't want to give Ratchet another reason to bark at him… And…" she rolled over on her side. "It didn't really come to me to call Bee… I wanted to talk to you…But, if you're busy doing Autobot stuff I can let you go and-"

"No, it's fine. I just returned back to the Lennox farm and everyone is still absent on vacation. What do you need?" Ironhide asked and she instantly felt a bit better.

S.S.S.S

"Well, it's about slagging time!"

Shelly blinked when she heard Barricade's annoyed grunt and moved to the window, swaying a bit on her feet. She would've been totally plastered if she hadn't had the pizza to go with it. Even though she's a demon she had an alcohol tolerance level much like a human's.

Speaking of humans…

"I-I tripped on dead pizza human!" She heard Frenzy's voice from the alley.

"Frenzy, what happened?" She asked, hopping onto the window sill and scaling down the building like a lizard. She landed, not as gracefully as she usually would have had she been sober, on top of a closed dumpster.

"Dead squishy tried to kill me! I-it had n-no circulation, or respiration and its temperature w-was sixty-eight degrees F-Fahrenheit. Squishy should've been dead! Its face changed. It was…ick…"

Barricade stared at the small transformer in confusion while Shelly processed this. "Was its face really bumpy and he had really sharp teeth?"

Frenzy nodded vigorously. "And r-radioactive hair and a coat made of cow skin. He spoke like h-he was from…" He paused and his optics dimmed and then brightened again. "Britain."

Shelly rolled her eyes flopped back on the dumpster lid. "Spike…" She muttered and then lifted up. "You fought with a vampire."

Both bots' optics dimmed as they scanned the internet for information. When they were finished Frenzy began chittering in Cybertronian and Barricade snapped out something that was probably 'shut up' before turning to Shelly.

"A reanimated human corpse with massive strength and agility and it feeds on blood? And it used to be a human until it was turned by being bitten and then fed the blood of its attacker while it is near death?"

"Mm-hmm." Shelly nodded.

"Just when I think this world can't get anymore revolting." Barricade grumbled. "I don't understand why it would be in the Slayer's house."

"I-it was smelling her aft coverings." Frenzy piped up.

"What?" Shelly blinked and squealed when the small Decepticon ran up to her, reached in her pants and pulled the elastic of her underwear.

"These!" He said in exasperation and let go, causing her to yelp when they snapped back into place.

"You little jerk! I should-wait…" She said and shoved a hand through her hair. "He was smelling her drawers? Ew!"

"That's disgusting!" Barricade growled.

"Spike's always been one sick ass weirdo…" Shelly mused. "But, now I'm wondering why was he in there in the first place. He'd have to be invited in and-" She stopped when Frenzy scurried to the alley opening. "What's up?"

He just peeked around and then squealed, jerking back and hiding behind Barricade who looked out as well.

"What in the name of Primus is that?!"

Curious, Shelly scooted off the lid and went to see what the two bots were spazzing about. When she looked her eyes widened. Something was making its way down the street. It had the head, hood and tail of a cobra but the arms of a man. It had to be about nine feet tall. It passed by them, stopping to regard them for a moment before hurrying along.

"What was that?" Barricade demanded.

"Mutant snake…" Shelly muttered, shocked out of her buzz. "But, this is the Hellmouth… weird shit always happens here… It's probably going to go kill some virgins or something… Or the product of a spell. Nothing we need to worry about." She stopped and blinked up at Barricade who still had this unbelieving look on his face. "What?"

"You can make something like that… using a spell? Why would you want to…?"

"Something to do." Shelly shrugged. "Anyways, it's no biggie. It's probably going to go kill some people. The Slayer will go after it, yada yada yada."

"What about the Slayer girl. You want her alive, don't you?"

"Please, like that thing's a match for that bitch. And that's even if it goes after her."

S.S.S.S.S

"And, I just feel like total crap right now. I mean, my mom's sick and I was happy that everyone knew so I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore as much."

Dawn had now moved to the floor, box of tissues in her lap as she poured out her problems to Ironhide. She waited for him to take back everything he said about her before and tell her what a selfish brat she really was.

He was silent for a while until he finally spoke. "Considering everything you've been through, it's actually understandable that you felt a small bit of relief."

"But…" She sniffled and paused to blow her nose, not knowing that at the Lennox farm Ironhide was cringing at the disgusting sound. "But, how can I even feel a little bit glad with what's happening to her? That's just so screwed up. I mean, Buffy would never-"

"You're not your sister, Dawn. She may handle things one way and you another. And the fact that it's rusting you inside means that you are a good person, otherwise you wouldn't give a slag at all. If that were the case, then you would be a selfish brat. But, you're not. You're just carrying a lot of slag right now and the load was lightened a bit and you were glad. It doesn't make you evil or selfish. Don't give yourself such a hard time over it."

"Yeah, but-"

"Dawn, I've been around a lot longer than you. I've seen friends turn on each other for power. A war that lasted for thousands of your human years all started by a power hungry slag pile that was supposed to be our trusted High Protector and it was nearly done again to your planet. Now, if I had to choose all of that or one femme youngling who beats herself up because she had one bit of selfish impulse which is completely covered by all of the selflessness I've seen her display over the past two days, which do you think I would choose?"

Dawn sat there in silence for a few minutes as his words touched her heart. Tears flowed again but she managed to keep them out of her voice. "You're way too sweet for your own good…"

He was silent for a moment and then let out a small chuckle. "If you say so. Are you better now?"

"Yeah…" She said after a pause.

Ironhide cycled a sigh when he heard the hesitance in her voice. "But…?" He prodded.

"I still can't help but think about Buffy and that she'd-"

"Frag it, Dawn! Compare yourself to her one more time and I'll drive back over there and shake you like that snow globe thing Mikaela has!"

The teenager jumped and squeaked at his outburst but then broke into giggles. "Okay, okay! I'll quit…"

"You'd better…" He groused.

Feeling better, she eased back onto her bed. "Oh, by the way… I told mom about my day… I didn't tell her about you. Just that I hung out with Sam, Mikaela and four other friends… And now she either one or all of you are gay teenage boys…"

She pressed her lips together to keep the giggles from spilling out while he was silent on the other end. "You there?" She asked, snickers escaping.

"Yes, I'm here… I suppose it's better than the actual truth…" He groused.

"Can you help me with my hair and wardrobe and then we go get a mani-pedi together?" She asked and then cracked up laughing.

"A what…?" He asked and then went silent as he scanned the internet. "Youngling, shut up!" He growled, making Dawn laugh even harder.

The sound of the door breaking downstairs frightened down out of her mirth.

"Dawn! What's going on?" Ironhide demanded.

The young girl couldn't even speak, she was too afraid. She strange noises, a kind of hissing and Xander's cry of shock. She didn't even get a chance to get off of the bed and run when her door suddenly broke open.

The huge mutated snake with human arms and torso stared at her with glowing red eyes and charged at her, making her scramble off of the bed. It loomed over her and she screamed as it hissed at her. She didn't hear Buffy or Xander's shouts or Ironhide demanding what was happening, there was no world beyond those glowing eyes, hissing tongue and her own terrified screams.


	18. Wild Night

Disclaimer: I do not own _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _or _Transformers. Buffy _belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy and _Transformers _belongs to Hasbro and the movie belongs to Michael Bay and Dreamworks.

A/N: OMG I am so sorry for the ridiculous wait. Again, drama… but I'm going to try to get this out there because I love you all and the good thing about the hiatuses? I get attacked with plot bunnies left and right! So, I hope you enjoy this chapter because I enjoyed piecing it together for you. Gee whiz, E Nomine is perfect for writing fear scenes! XD

_I'm going to die…_

Staring into those flashing crimson eyes as the snake creature loomed over her, Dawn knew she was staring at her own death. She knew she should run but she was frozen to the spot. Her throat was raw from the screaming but she couldn't stop. Like it was going to matter once that thing ripped out her throat.

"Dawn!"

She heard Buffy and Xander's unified shout and a quick bit of relief shot through her. She managed to peek around the snake's bulky frame to see her sister and Xander in the doorway, the Slayer with a sword and her crush with a two-by-four.

"BUFFY! XANDER!"

At that moment the snake lunged, its large hands gripping Dawn by the upper arms, lifting her from the ground. She shrieked again, this time in pain and again in horror when it shot towards her window prepared to run off with her.

Suddenly, it jerked and hissed loudly, stopped by something and the quick movement sent her back crashing into the wall. She grunted in pain and slid to the ground, lifting her head in time to see her sister yank the sword from its tail and aim for its head.

The creature hissed and dropped Dawn, turning on Buffy. Its bleeding tail swung and ripped the phone cord straight from the wall.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Dawn?! DAWN?!"

He had tried reaching her ever since the strange noises had begun, but she never answered. And when the line went dead he felt cold fear grip his Spark.

"Slag it!!" He growled and sped out of the driveway, opening his communication link with the other Autobots and sending out the distress call.

'Ironhide, what is it?_'_ Optimus demanded.

'Trouble at the Summers' residence._'_ He sent every piece of data to Autobots.

The moment he was on the freeway, he saw Optimus and Ratchet coming up behind him. Bumblebee was nowhere to be seen.

'Bumblebee is staying here to keep watch over Sam and Mikaela' Optimus informed him.

That's right; the younglings had school in the morning. He said nothing but just continued on his way. He knew she was okay, or at the very least, alive, that strange sense told him so. But along with that he could get a sense of cold fear.

And whatever had her so scared was going to have to deal with him the minute he got there.

S.S.S.S

Buffy ducked the blow that was swung at her and then the tail, but missed the third blow and she was sent crashing into the wall. She grunted in pain and lifted up to see the creature make a grab at Dawn again when it was struck in the face with a two-by-four by Xander. She had a brief moment to wonder where he got these things out of nowhere from before the monster turned to the helpless girl again, made a move to grab her but then backed away and slid through the open window, making a loud thud as it landed on the ground.

"Dawn!" Xander rushed forward and gathered the hysterical girl in his arms. "It's okay, it's gone." He turned to Buffy. "Why was that thing scared of her? It kinda wigged when it saw her…"

Buffy's eyes widened in horrified realization as she recalled the look of dreaded recognition on the thing's face.

_It knows…_

"Xander, take care of Dawn." Was all she said as she picked up her sword and leapt through the window.

The carpenter watched the Slayer leave before turning back to the shaking, crying girl in his arms. "It's okay, Dawn, it's gone…"

S.S.S.S.

"Damn it! Where's Snakey with my Key!?"

Glory paced back and forth across the room, highly impatient. Dreg had said that the Sobek thingy would recognize the Key and bring it back to her or at the very least tell her what it truly was. But why was it taking so long?

Jinx, who was currently in the process of getting ready to bed Rina, who was clearly not happy about it, stopped and turned to Glory.

"My Goddess, do you think that…" he gestured up at Starscream who simply looked irritated beyond belief. "Do you think that maybe he could locate Sobek?"

Starscream tensed and Glory stopped and turned to look at Jinx. "What're you talking about?"

"Well, he is a highly advanced technology… thing… He may have scanners or something…" He stopped when everyone regarded him and he shrugged sheepishly. "I read a lot of comics…"

"I'm about to be boned by an ugly geek… Yay…" Rina grumbled.

Glory ignored her and turned to consider the Decepticon. "Can you?" She demanded.

Starscream's optic narrowed. "I can… but, this shield is blocking my ability to scan for anything. You would have to release it."

Of course he could scan just fine through the shield, but when fate granted you an opportunity…

"Don't buy it, my Goddess." Rina said before Glory could consider anything and everyone turned to her.

Rina glared up at Starscream and turned back to Glory. "He's full of shit. After Mission City was over and he flew away like a bitch, the goodybots gave us all the info we needed on him. He lies like a rug. His scanners are either broken or they work and he's just trying to get out."

Oh how Starscream wanted to squish this slagging lizard whore!

Rina swept forward in a graceful bow to Glory. "It is a reptile. I can find it easily, especially since it was made with your awesome power."

The Goddess flicked her eyes between the Nythislan at her feet and the Cybertronian. "Go ahead, lizard."

Rina nodded and headed towards the door, tossing a smirk in Starscream's direction.

"But you're still boning Jinx once you get back!"

"D'oh!"

Glory then turned to Starscream. "So… you're going to try to play me…?" She tsked and shook her head, blonde crinkles shaking gently. "Now I'm hurt…"

But the look in her eyes let him know that the only one who was going to hurt was him.

S.S.S.S

"W-what did that thing want with me?" Dawn whimpered, clinging onto Xander's waist.

"I don't know…" He pulled back a little and squeezed her shoulders gently. "It probably wanted to piss off Buffy… Y'know, like that dumb skank Harmony…"

Dawn figured that was as reasonable excuse as any for some demon thing in Sunnydale. She'd been taken before and that was by that vampo-slut Harmony.

"I'm gonna go call Giles, give him the heads up. Come on." He headed downstairs and she started to follow when she noticed the phone was out of its cord.

_Oh crap! Ironhide!_

"Um… you go on ahead, I'm just going to fix up." She said and he gave her worried look.

"You gonna be okay up here by yourself?" He asked.

"Uh-huh… and you're gonna have to put those handyman superpowers of yours to work... Didn't it trash the front door? Vamps can't get in but what about others demony things…?"

"Oh… crap!" Xander cried. "I'm on it." He rushed down the hall. "Don't come down until I say so, okay?"

"Right…" She called and then hurriedly plugged the phone into the wall. "Crap…" She muttered as she nervously dialed the series of numbers and shakily brought the phone to her ear.

"Dawn? What happened? Are you all right?" Ironhide demanded. "We're on our way there."

The teenager's eyes grew as big as dinner plates and she stuttered for words. "N-no! Don't. It's okay… I'm fine now. Everything's good." She lied.

Somehow she knew that his short silence meant he didn't really believe her. "What happened?"

Dawn opened her mouth to speak but then quickly closed it. How could she tell him about what happened without mentioning Buffy? She had promised her sister that she would never tell anyone her secret. How could she rat out her sister who had went out to play hack-and-slash with something that had just tried to kill her when she was already keeping stuff from her?

"Dawn?!" Ironhide snapped and she squeaked

"Geez, dude, scary much?" She said in a wobbly voice as the events of the night began to get to her. She brought her free hand up to wipe her eyes.

He was silent for a moment before continuing in a calmer voice. "Sorry kid, I'm just worried as slag over here. What happened?"

Did he have to go and say that? Now she felt even worse.

"It… I…was…" She took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat along with the guilt. "Some… freak attacked me… I don't even know how he got in the house." It wasn't really a lie, and judging by the muscular torso that thing had, she guessed it was a he.

"Attacked you?" The Autobot repeated, and she could tell he was getting pissed by the dangerous edge his voice had taken. "Did he try to-"

"I don't know what he was gonna do." Dawn said quickly. "He came in, freaked me out, tried to grab me but Buffy and Xander totally kicked his ass so everything's good…"

That thing might have wanted her for its snake bride or something…EWW!! She cringed at the thought.

"Are you there alone?" Ironhide asked.

"Nope, Xander's here with me. He's fixing some stuff that broke and Buffy went out to go handle the more messy parts… The others are probably going to come by later after Xander calls them so… No need for you to rush over here." There was bound to be Slayer talk and they so didn't need to hear that… no matter how much she wanted them back here.

"Dude, don't worry, okay. Everything's perfectly fine here now."

S.S.S.S

"Oh shit!"

Shelly was back in her apartment when the vision hit her. She gasped and clutched her head, sliding off of her window sill only to land on something metal.

"Are you stupid?" Barricade demanded as he brought her close to his face after catching her.

She narrowed her eyes at him but did not answer as she concentrated on what he senses were telling her.

"I… know what that snake thing is…" She said as she wriggled from his grasp and leapt to the ground. "It's to find the Key…" She stopped and closed her eyes again, this time hissing. "And that skank sister of mine is after it!"

"Don't you think you should go after it too?" Barricade asked in a voice that clearly said she was stupid if she didn't.

He did not even give her a chance to snap at him as he activated his scanners. How hard could it be to scan for a mutated reptile in a human city?

After a few seconds he found it. It was headed through a grassy area and a car was speeding behind it. Two humans were inside, the driver was a human male and the passenger was a female with a heightened energy.

"Slayer slag-pile!"

With a snarl he transformed and sped down the street after them.

"Barricade!" Shelly yelled. "You stupid! Get back here!"

S.S.S.S

Buffy sprinted as fast as she could down the street after the snake but it was too far ahead. She had to get that thing and fast. If it told that bitch Glory…

"Buffy!"

The sound of tires squealing made the blonde skid to a stop. She turned and saw Giles's car next to her.

"That thing knows about-" She began.

"Yes, I know. Xander called me a while ago." The Watcher explained. "Now, get in. You'll never catch that thing on foot."

Buffy said nothing and quickly jumped in the passenger's side as the car took off down the street. After a few moments of Giles breaking the speed limit she could make out the snake thing up ahead and kept her hand on the door handle so she could sprint after it once she was close enough.

**CRASH!**

Buffy gasped as the car was hit from behind by another vehicle and was jerked roughly forward. Her chest struck the dashboard before she was thrown back into her seat. Giles fared better since he was wearing his seatbelt.

"Bloody hell!" He cursed but kept going.

Buffy turned in her seat and gasped. It was that cop car thing again. "Giles, that's the robot thing!"

"What?!"

"Pull over!"

Giles started to pull over but the Nevada police cruiser pulled alongside of him and bumped him again, this time sending his little sports car careening into a tree.

Buffy was saved from being thrown against the windshield by the emergency airbag. She groaned painfully and opened the door, stumbling to the driver's side.

"Giles?! Giles!"

The driver's door opened and the Watcher stumbled out. He looked a little disoriented but didn't seem too worse for wear.

"Sodding hell…" The older man grunted as he made his way to his trunk which had been popped open from the impact. He handed Buffy two battle axes and pulled out a few weapons for himself before freezing at a strange whirring noise.

A sound she had only heard once before caught her attention. She and Giles turned at the sound of gears clicking into place and she was once again face to face with that mechanical bastard.

"Oh dear Lord…" Giles muttered in horrified awe.

Buffy's eyes flicked between the giant monster and the snake thing that was currently getting away. She couldn't let that thing get back to Glory but she couldn't leave Giles alone. But it seemed its problem was with her and not her Watcher.

"Giles, get out of here."

"Like Hell I will…" Was his steely reply.

"You again…" The robot growled.

To hide her fear and irritation at Giles, she did what she did best: Make bitchy comments at her enemy.

"Yeah, me again. Y'know, the girl who handed you your ass like no other human can dish it? Got your eye back, huh? Sucks you're still ugly…"

When he growled and lunged, she took off, hoping to lead that thing away from Giles.

That squishy bitch was as good as dead. If that snake thing could find this Key that the lizard was so intent on finding then they did not need this irritating femme which meant he could kill her which he so longed to do after she humiliated him!

This human was fast, much faster than the Witwicky boy, but that didn't stop him. He only had to do a light jog to catch up to her before knocking her into a tree. Her cry of pain gave him immense satisfaction as he reached down to squish the little fragger.

He stopped when he felt bullets hitting him in the foot. They didn't hurt, they were just annoying, like the flies that smashed against his windshield. He snarled and turned to find the older human, firing a gun at him. If he could, he would've rolled his optics like he had seen Shelly do. He really didn't have time for this.

Opening his chest plates, he let Frenzy hop to the ground.

"Handle my light work." He told the little robot before turning his attention back to the Slayer who was pulling herself off of the ground.

s.s.

Giles jerked back at the sight of the small silver bot that hissed at him. He started to aim his gun again when the little thing extracted guns of his own and fired. The Watcher dropped to the ground and rolled behind his ruined car. It had been years since he was a in a shootout and he was a bit rusty. He peeked out from behind his car only to cry out when his face was sliced with a shuriken.

"All right… " He growled and cupped his bleeding cheek, reaching into the still open door of the car and into the glove box. "Now you've right pissed me off!

Giles came up and fired at the small robot with a semi-automatic handgun, ducking when the shots were returned. Then it was an all out war. The two darted behind trees, shots fired back and forth. The sound of the battle between the larger Decepticon and the Slayer could be heard but neither could be distracted at the moment.

At some point, Frenzy tried to duck behind a tree only to trip on an upturned root. He groaned and shook his head to clear his pixilated vision and started to get up only to be pressed face first into the ground.

"It would be wise if you stayed still…"

Frenzy wanted to scream in frustration. Why were the British squishies giving him so much trouble!?

"Now…" The human pressed his foot harder against the back of Frenzy's neck. "You're going to tell me everything you know…"

Frenzy hissed and retorted with a human phrase he'd learn during his time on Earth. "PISS OFF!"

It was so quick that Giles never saw it coming. The little Decepticon curled in his lower body and then flung his feet backwards, launching three shuriken. None of them hit their mark, but they shocked the human enough that he removed his foot, allowing Frenzy to escape. He leapt up into a tree and the shootout was on once again.

s.s.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

After picking herself up, Buffy had taken off for the snake creature, intent on taking it out and keeping that robot thing away from Giles. She almost gained up on it when out of nowhere a weapon with wicked spikes swung down hard, just inches away from turning her into a human pin cushion.

"Double shit!" She squeaked and rolled out of the way as the blades swung down again.

"Slagging…" The blades came down and she dodged, "…squishy-" His fist tried to squish her but she was too fast, "MAGGOT!"

Barricade swung his blades down hard, delighted, despite the pain, when he felt something go squish as the sound of organic fluids.

"Heh, thanks for taking care of that for me…"

At the sound of the Slayer's irritating voice the Decepticon jerked. The girl was perfectly fine and the thing now lodged on his blades was the serpent creature he was trying to protect.

_Fan-fragging-tastic._

With a low growl, he swung his blades, flinging the dead mutant off of them before aiming them at the blonde femme. She dodged out of the way and took off and he was right on her heels. She ducked through the trees and he snarled. It was going to be, as the humans said, a bitch to get through all of that vegetation slag. He was about to break every tree in sight until he heard Frenzy's scream and British cruses. From the sounds of it, the older male was working him over good.

_Why do I always have to save his aft?_

He scanned for Frenzy but found the Slayer again. She was currently in one of the trees, which would make it that much easier. He grinned in anticipation but stopped when she turned and her eyes met his optics. Her grip tightened around the weapons in her hands and with every ounce of her Slayer strength, she whirled the axes and sent them flying at the large robot, taking out both of his optics.

The Decepticon screamed in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his optics. Buffy again took that moment to get away. She cut through the wooded area and found Giles currently beating the crap out of the same little robot from earlier with a tire iron. And from the look on his face, Giles was thoroughly enjoying it. How he managed to catch the little shit, she'd never guess.

"Squishy flea!" The robot hissed before getting hit in the torso. He managed to scramble away only to find himself staring at a pair of feet clad in wedged boots.

"Hold it, Giles."

Oh slag, that femme again.

That Slayer femme unnerved him. Any squishy that could give Barricade a hard time was going to be too much trouble for him.

Her hand whipped out and caught him by the neck, lifting him up.

"What the Hell were you doing in my house?!" She growled. "And why were you going through my panties!?"

The little robot stopped and hissed in disgust. "Th-those things that cover your w-waste ports are disgusting! Th-that was the dead squishy!"

Buffy frowned for a moment and her eyes widened in embarrassment and shock. Spike was in her house and in her undies!? She was so going to kill him later. But that was the least important thing right now.

"Who sent you?"

Frenzy just hissed at her. He wasn't about to tell this maggot anything. He'd been brought back from the Pit once; the demon would probably do it again since she apparently needed him. It wasn't like there were any other Cassetticons around to help her… though she probably could get tiny demons… if there were such a thing. But, that wasn't important at the moment.

"S-slag off, cow!"

And with that, Frenzy swung his feet upwards, tiny claws raking across her face. The blonde screamed and dropped him and he took off like a shot. With Barricade damaged, he had to get out of here and fast.

As he ran, he kept his scanners on for the humans that were probably going to chase him. However, he was caught unaware when he collided head on with something that was making its way through the woods. Whatever it was cried out as they both hit the ground hard.

Frenzy blinked as his hands gripped at something soft, firm and squishy all at the same time. He gave whatever these pillow-like things were a couple of times, testing their texture out of curiosity.

"Hey! Paws off the merchandise!"

Frenzy didn't even get a chance to lift his head when a hand gripped around his face and tossed him into a tree. He squealed at the impact and quickly got to his feet to face his assailant.

It was a blonde squishy femme but not the Slayer girl. This femme was taller, wearing a...er… dress thing… and her hair was curly.

"Whoa! What the Hell are you?!"

He hissed at her and she jerked back before her face changed much like that male he had battled against and growled in way that was similar to Megatron. His optics widened and he backed up.

"V-vampire!"

"Damn straight!" She growled. "You wanna go, you little pervert? I'll kick your ass!" She placed her hands on her hips and started towards her before her nose twitched and her eyes widened. "Uh-oh! Slayer's around here…" She turned back to Frenzy. "Bye!" And with that she gone… and maybe he should follow her lead.

S.S.S

"Oh… you… IDIOT!"

Shelly seethed as she finally made it to the battlefield. She was forced to run since Barricade had taken off without her. When she finally got there, she found the Sobek creature dead, skewered to death and Barricade was now lying in the middle of the grass, holding both optics.

"Shut up!" He growled back at her. "Fix it, slag it!"

The brunette demon narrowed her eyes. "I'm starting to really get sick of this shit!" She stopped and growled. "And now Rina's almost here…" She hissed. "Can you transform? We have to get out of here now. I'll fix you later."

He slowly got to his feet and transformed into the sleek Saleen Mustang. She slid inside just as Frenzy came bounding through the trees.

"Can you be driven like an actually car?" She asked. "You know, since you're all blind and stuff?"

Frenzy's head snapped to her direction. "WHAT?!"

"Oh yeah, Hothead over here went and got his eyes hacked out by the Slayer." She ignored his growl and turned to Frenzy. "Can you drive? I have to work on something."

Frenzy gave Barricade's grill a look that clearly said he was the dumbest thing in this or any other planet and climbed into the driver's seat. Shelly snickered when she saw Frenzy couldn't see over the wheel and took her boots off. "Sit on those."

"PUT THOSE BACK ON! Your pedals reek worse than squishy exhaust!" Barricade growled as the stench wafted through his interior and Frenzy gagged in sputtered.

"Keep it up!" Shelly growled. "Say one more thing!"

"D-demon feet rank!" Frenzy gagged and the demon in question rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shut up, spaz-ass! I'm working something here." She said as she closed her eyes and the Saleen started back toward the town, both Decepticons griping the entire way.

S.S.S

Inside of his crypt Spike had just taken the mug of blood out of the microwave and sipped.

"Ah that's the stuff. Nice bit of O positive." He was no longer living off of pig's blood but had now taken to swiping donor bags of blood from the Red Cross or the hospital. It wasn't as great as sinking his fangs into some poor sod's neck but it was much better than the swine his sorry grandsire lived off of.

He was sitting back now, enjoying the peace and quiet. After he was done her he'd got look for a demon or something to kill.

Speaking of demons… or somethings, his mind slipped back to earlier that night. He figured he'd have to have a bit of a talk with the niblet about running around with crazed robots if that nasty little poofter he faced off against was any clue to what they were really like.

They idea of admonishing Dawn sprung forth fantasies of Buffy smiling at him in approval, followed by her shedding her clothes in gratitude letting him have his way with her.

"Spike!"

Oh yeah, he could hear her yelling his name now.

Wait, that was a little too real.

He blinked out of his fantasy but not in time to duck the fist flying at his face. He went flying back and gripped his nose in pain. "What the bloody hell was that for?!"

"That little robot thing wasn't in my undies. You were!" She growled.

He straightened up and put on an outraged face. "You're going to believe some little cracked out robot over ol' Spike?"

"YES!" And she punctuated her outburst with another punch to the face. "Pervert!"

As he straightened his nose again Spike contemplated telling Buffy about that strange scent being all over Dawn but decided against it. Even though he loved her, he wasn't above letting something blow up in her face. He'd just have to keep a closer eye on the little bit.

"Are you done now?" He asked, fixing his features into an expression of exasperated boredom.

The blonde regarded him for a moment and then punched him full on in the face one more time. "Now I am." And with that she left.

When she was gone, Spike sighed. Now he could get back to his peace and quiet.

"Oh! My! God!"

Or not…

The British vampire let out a sigh as another hot blonde entered his crypt. At least this one had the bonus of giving him a good lay instead of an ass kicking.

"What happened now, Harmony?" He asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Okay…" The blonde vampire began, sitting on the bed. "I was out about to get someone to eat when I hear all of this crashing and stuff. And then I heard screaming… really weird screams too. But, I wasn't about to get mixed up in that since I just got these shoes." She stopped and regarded her shoes. "Oh, thank God they're okay. I mean, these are the new Coach shoes and this color so rocks on me and…" She stopped when she noticed Spike's exasperated look. "Sorry, but, anyway, out of nowhere this weird little… thing crashes into me and totally feels me up! It looked like a robot bug or something."

Now Spike looked up with interest. "Really? What was he like, luv?"

"All spazzed out and weird. Like he spent way too much time in Starbucks." She rolled her eyes. "But, he sees me and I was ready to go at it when I smelled the Slayer coming so I hauled ass out of there." She sighed and flopped on the bed. "Why do these things happen to me, I mean…"

That was when he zoned out, he had much better things to do than listen to Harmony whine.

S.S.S.S

"Well?"

Rina sighed as she came back to the hideout and shook her head. "I found the creature, but it was dead. I think the Slayer killed it."

Glory let out an infuriated shriek and was about to jump up and down in a tantrum but stopped when she remembered what happened the last time she freaked out.

"Damn bitch! I hate that ho!" She growled and then turned back to the other blonde. "Did you do your little head thing?"

Rina placed her hands on either side of her head and focused. After a while, visions came to mind and her head pounded. The Slayer stabbing the creature over and over with a spear. After a moment she opened her eyes. "Yes, it was her." She said as she caught her breath before a strong hand nearly choked it out of her.

"You tellin' me the truth, bitch?" Glory growled.

"Yes! I love you! I'd never deceive you!" Rina choked out.

"Never?" Glory's hand tightened.

"I swear!"

"Even after I ordered you to bang Jinxers over there."

"He's revolting but it's not enough to betray you. If that's what you think I deserve then I deserve it!"

The Goddess regarded the squirming demon for a moment before dropping her to the ground. "That's what I like to hear." She lifted the gasping girl to her feet by her hair. "Keep up that sweet attitude and you won't end up like that wreck over there."

Rina looked over to where she was pointing and fought back the urge to chuckle. Sure, she nearly had the life choked out of her but at least her skin, or scales depending on what form she was in, were still intact, and not hanging off her flesh like the ripped and mangled shreds of Starscream's armor.

S.S.S.

"Damn it! Now, I have a headache."

Shelly flopped onto her bed and gripped her head. Working that spell had taken more out of her than she thought.

"That'll keep that bitch sister of mine off our backs."

She closed her eyes but could feel Frenzy watching her, waiting for an explanation. "I sent some phony images into her head to throw her off what really happened."

"And what about me, lizard?!"

Shelly sighed and pulled the pillow over her face to block out the sound of Barricade's voice coming through her radio.

"Shut up!" Her voice was muffled through the pillow.

"You said you would fix my optics!"

"Yeah, well keeping that skank sister away from the mess you made weakened me! I have to regain my strength and you'll just have to sit tight for a little bit."

There was a tense silence before he asked, "How long is a 'little bit'?"

She stuck her fingers into her ears, not looking forward to his reaction.

"A few days, a week tops."

"WHAT?!" The Enforcer growled in shock.

"Hey, blame the one who rushed into battle and got your optics hacked off… Oh, right. That was you."

He growled but couldn't deny that it was true.

"So now what?" He asked.

"We lay low for a few days until I get my strength back…. Now, if you want me to get it back sooner, chill out and let me sleep."

Barricade grunted his acquiescence and settled into recharge, his last thought a lovely image of that blonde bitch's bloody remains dangling from his claws.

S.S.S.S

"Guys, seriously, you don't have to come by."

Dawn had managed to calm Ironhide down but now she had to keep them from checking up on her for at least until Friday. Now Ratchet and Optimus were in on the conversation making it the most memorable conference call she's ever had.

"Are you certain?" Ratchet prodded.

"Yes." She was really getting annoyed.

"I still think that-" Optimus began.

"Dude, have you met me?" Dawn interrupted. "I get really distracted, I'm like a monkey. And I have school tomorrow. No way am I going to be Queen of the Class if I'm all sleepy because I'm hanging out the window making with the chatty with a bunch of giant robots.

"Does everyone in your city speak so weird?" Ironhide asked

"Nope, just us." She smiled. "And aren't your contact people coming back from their vacation?"

"Yes, they are…"

"So, you should, like, be there to greet them and stuff. And tell them how you met the coolest girl on the planet and how awesome I am."

"You mean annoying."

"Oh please, you love me and you know it."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"This is getting nowhere…" Ratchet cut in.

"Agreed." Optimus sighed but his voice held slight amusement.

"Buffy, you're back. Dawnster, Buffy and G-man are back and the door is now not broken. I'm headed out!" Dawn blinked when she heard Xander's voice and sighed in relief.

"Okay guys, I have to get off of here okay. My sister's back and she's going to be watching me like a hawk. Another reason for you guys not to come up here yet…"

"Very well…" Optimus finally agreed. "But Dawn?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me in the morning before you go to school, understand?" He said in what she guess was his 'You'll Listen To Me' voice.

"Yes, Dad…" She rolled her eyes.

"Dawn…"

"Okay, okay. I promise." She sighed. He was almost like her mom. "Can I go now?"

"Yes. Good night, Dawn."

"Bye."

"Try to get some rest, Dawn." Ratchet advised.

"Will do. G'night."

_"Sleep in heavenly peace_…"

"Bumblebee, when did you get on here?" Ratchet asked while Dawn giggled.

"Hi, Bee… G'night, Bee."

_'Nighty night!_'

"Bye, Ironhide."

"Call me as well." Was all he said before the line finally went silent.

After hanging up the phone, Dawn sighed and headed down the stairs to greet her sister but stopped when she heard the voices.

"So, do you think that they have any idea…" Giles voice could be heard.

"I don't know…" Her sister sounded so weary. "It almost took her Giles… and if they ever found out that…" She heard Buffy sigh. "We can't let them find out its Dawn."

On the stairs, Dawn blinked and frowned in confusion. What the Hell were they talking about? She stayed put to listen a little more but Giles had gotten up to leave so obviously the conversation was over. She quietly made her way back to her room and curled up in bed, forcing the troubling words of her sister and the Watcher.


	19. A Week's Passed

Disclaimer: I do not own _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ or _Transformers the movie. Transformers_ belongs to Hasbro while the movie belongs to Michael Bay and DreamWorks and _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

"So, you're headed back there?"

Ironhide glanced down at his human companion. He was currently in his true form, sitting near the Lennox house.

"Yeah, we promised the kid we'd come back after a week. We just have to wait for Sam and Mikaela to get out of school."

After returning to the Lennox farm after the scare involving Dawn, Ironhide had informed his human companions of what went on that weekend while they were away in Florida. Will had been worried about his huge friend being energy-connected to a teenage girl but Sarah, while concerned, found it cute, and often teased him every now and again.

Sarah shifted Annabelle on her hip and gave Ironhide a smile. "I think you have a soft spot for this girl."

Ironhide gave a one-shouldered shrug. "She's all right, for a youngling. She went through some really tough slag those days."

"Yeah, you told me… Did she tell you if her mom was doing any better?"

Ironhide shook his head. "No, I haven't heard from her since Monday morning even though I still get flashes from this… whatever the Pit this thing is."

"So…" Will began as he got ready for work, leaning his head out of the bedroom window. "You can feel everything from her?"

"Not everything, Ratchet thinks that I'm only getting the signals from her stronger emotions…" His expression became annoyed and he turned to Sarah. "What is it with youngling females and their emotions… and why do they have to have so many?"

"I would think her mother being sick would have…" Sarah began testily before Ironhide held up a silencing hand.

"I know all about that, I get that, but it seems like one minute she's happy, the next she's royally slagged off, then having a break down and over and over and over again."

The blonde woman snickered at her giant friend's irritation. "It's called hormones and estrogen, sweetheart." She smiled as she sat the sleeping baby in her carrier. "And teenagers are naturally full of drama... and she has an older sister."

"And women are just crazy…" Will muttered.

"What was that?" Sarah demanded and Will poked his head back in the house.

"Nothing, honey."

"Yeah, I thought so…" Sarah muttered.

"Wimp." Ironhide smirked at his human.

"I think we should come along too." Will said and Sarah's head snapped towards the window.

"Will…" She began. "The girl has enough stuff to deal with; she doesn't need some rough, tough soldier boy giving her the Third Degree."

"But-"

"I want to meet this girl too, but it should wait when her life isn't so hectic… So, just let her have this weekend with Sam and Mikaela. If those two can't keep her distracted, nothing will."

The soldier sighed, but couldn't argue. Besides, Sarah knew more than anyone what it was like to have an extremely ill parent. She never told him much, but he knew that when she was a teenager her father was sick with Leukemia and she had people giving her a lot of Hell when all she wanted was some space and the support of her friends.

"All right, all right…" Will sighed.

Will, don't you have to visit Sarah's creator this weekend anyway?" Ironhide asked

"The term's 'mother', Ironhide…" Will sighed and made a face that clearly said he'd rather face Decepticons than visit Sarah's mom. "And don't remind me…"

The Autobot smirked while Sarah glared at her husband and continued on. "If you're worried about her exposing us, don't be." Ironhide said. "She went through great lengths to keep our existence a secret."

"Like what?" Sarah asked.

S.S.S.S

_I'm not here for your entertainment!_

_You don't really wanna mess with me tonight!_

Mikaela was lounging inside of Bumblebee with Sam, just enjoying each other's company until it was time to go inside the building when her cell phone went off. After glancing at the display screen and seeing who it was, she flipped it open. "Hey Will, what's up? I have Hell in a few minutes so I can't talk long."

"Ironhide told us what happened in Sunnydale," Will began and then chuckled. "Sam soured you on the whole male species already?"

The young girl snickered and Bee revved in amusement while Sam eyed her curiously. She sent him a mischievous glance as she spoke into the phone.

"What can I say? Dawn's just way cuter than he is." She smirked while Sam shook his head, laughing.

"Hi Will…" Sam said loudly enough for the older man to hear, and could tell he was laughing.

At that moment the bell rang and the two teens exited their Autobot friend. "Gotta go, time for school." And with that Mikaela hung up the phone.

"He just couldn't resist, hmm?" Sam asked as they made their way into the building.

"Nope… and I'm so glad it's a half day. We can go over there as soon as school lets out. I hope she's doing okay."

The two went into their first class which they had together and sat down. "And that was so screwed up what happened to her right after we left." Mikaela continued. "Some pervert broke into her room and tried to grab her…"

Sam sighed and clenched a fist. "He would've been in so much shit if I had still been there."

"Speaking of perverts grabbing girls, did you hear about what happened?"

Both brunettes turned at the sound of Miles' voice as he sat behind them.

"No, what?" Sam asked.

"Trent's little sister went missing up in California." The skater boy informed them.

Sam's eyes widened and Mikaela's mouth dropped open.

"Mia's missing?" The mechanic asked. "What happened? How?"

Miles shrugged. "All I know is Trent and his buddies were supposed to head to L.A and his dad made him take her. They stopped in a small town for a while and she turned up missing."

Mikaela sighed as she processed this. Caramia, Trent's younger sister, used to be one of her closest friends. Out of loyalty to her older brother, she started acting coolly to Mikaela after she began dating Sam. She also suspected it was because the younger girl had harbored a secret crush on Sam since she was a first grader and he was in third grade to which Sam still had no idea about.

"What town did she get lost in?" Sam asked. "And how do you even know about this?"

"Mike the tailback's mom works in the same building with my dad." Miles explained. "And I think it was called Sunnydale." ­

Sam and Mikaela both exchanged a quick look before the teacher finally came in and began today's lesson.

S.S.S.S

"Oh… Hell…"

Frenzy looked up from the potted plant he was poking and turned to his demon companion who was lounging in her bed. He tilted his head at her curiously before rambling in Cybertronian. The humanoid lizard fisted a hand in her hair and sighed.

"Don't spaz out…" She said and then regarded him with a raised brow. "Well, don't spaz out more than usual…" She took another deep breath. "The Autobot guys are coming here."

As expected, Frenzy had a total meltdown. Her guess was that he was cursing up a storm in Cybertronian and then switched to English.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" He squealed, jumping up and down and then banged his head onto the table.

"You done yet?" Shelly asked after he had finally calmed down a bit.

The small robot gave her a glare, which on him she found rather cute. "N-now what?! W-what the slag are w-we go to do?"

The demon got up from her bed and stretched, cracking her neck and Frenzy shrank back in disgust. "I said before that I can keep you guys from being detected by them… I just have to throw out a little interference."

That seemed to calm Frenzy down. "B-but what about…" He pointed out the window at Barricade who was parked in the alley.

Shelly was impressed. The little booger was catching onto the way she used her magic pretty quickly and understood that if she did this then she might not be able to heal the vision impaired hothead out there.

"I might have to call in a favor for that one…" She muttered and fished around for her clothes.

Honestly, she was glad that there was some action. Sitting around here for the past week had been a nice big help of boring and annoying. Luckily she could tell things weren't moving that fast for Rina as well, which meant that she still had a chance.

"Demon!" The voice came through the small radio on her nightstand, "Are you adequate, yet?!"

Shelly hissed as her eyes went from their human color to a serpentine gold.

And Barricade was really getting on her nerves!

She supposed she could understand. He was blind and stuck in a dingy alley with rats and whatnot crawling all over him while he waited for the only one on Earth who could and would heal him to do so. But damn it, did he have to be such a fucking pain in the ass?!

"Shut up, will you!" She growled as she yanked her pajama top over her head and pulled on her t-shirt. "I'm on my way out and-" She stopped when she felt something and her eyes changed again.

"FRENZY, STOP POKING MY BOOB!"

S.S.S.S

"Mrs. Summers, you have a visitor."

Joyce looked up from the magazine she was reading to the see the doctor in her doorway with a smiling Anya behind him.

"Anya, this is a surprise!" She smiled as the doctor stepped aside to let the redhead into the room.

"Hello Joyce. You're looking very not-sickly."

Joyce sighed but gave Anya a smile. Over the last year she had become used to Anya's strange way of speaking. "Thank you, sweetheart… Is Xander with you?"

"He's working. I'm on lunch break so I came to visit. Xander says I should try to be more caring." She gave Joyce a hopeful smile. "How am I doing?"

Joyce arched a brow and chuckled. "Pretty well, actually."

"Are you still saying weird things?" Anya asked. "Buffy said you were saying weird things the last time she was here." She stopped when she noticed the troubled look that crossed the older woman's face. "But… I say weird things or so everyone says and I'm perfectly fine. I'm sure you'll be fine too."

Joyce managed a smile. "Thank you, sweetheart… and yes, sometimes I say things that make no sense and…" She sighed and brought a hand to her eyes and sniffled. "And… I can't even remember saying them…"

Anya's expression sobered. "I apologize for upsetting you…"

Wiping her eyes, Joyce sighed. "It's fine; actually I'm glad I get to talk about this with someone who isn't a doctor. I can't talk about this with the girls. Buffy has school and slaying and Dawn's way too fragile to handle this." She gave the redhead a worried look. "How are they doing? Honestly."

Anya shrugged. "Buffy's fine, though she and Giles keep talking about something. I think it has to do with that demon girl that she went up against who's supposed to really old. She and Riley are having a thing... I don't know how she's doing in school because I never care to ask…"

"And Dawn?" Joyce asked.

"Oh, Dawn's okay, even after the…" She stopped when she remembered that Joyce was not supposed to know that a demon snake came after her baby. "The… thing that happened at school. Some teenage drama thing… But, she and Mikaela are doing all right. She hasn't whined about it so I'm guessing those two aren't having a fighting thing like Buffy and Riley."

Joyce's brow furrowed and she tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry? Why would Dawn and that sweet girl be having…?" She stopped and her eyes went wide with realization. "Oh… my God."

It was then that Anya remembered the other thing Joyce wasn't supposed to know about Dawn. "Oops…"

S.S.S.S

"Shelly, dear, what a surprise!"

Doc reached out to help his granddaughter through the window after she scaled the building. When she was inside she gave him a smile and a hug.

"Hiya grandpa!" She pulled away and gave him an envelope. "Here's the money for the mess I made with the dead kid."

"Doc pocketed the money and cleared off a spot for her to sit. "So what can I do for you dear? Are you and Rina still having that feud?"

"Not feud, contest to the death." She corrected. "And… I need some help…?"

"Well, that's what I'm here for." Doc said, taking her hand and his smile melted away to look of concern. "Sweetheart, your projecting a lot of psychic interference."

The demon sighed. Yeah, I'm keeping those two from being detected." She said, gesturing to the window.

Doc peered out and noticed the parked Saleen cop car parked under the window in the alley and the little robot thing Shelly had resurrected last week was inside of it.

"I see…"

"Yeah…" She sighed. "You think you can fix the big one's eyes? I would but…" She gave a sheepish shrug and he smiled.

"I don't see why that would be a problem…"

S.S.S.S.

_Dear diary,_

_Man, this has been the weirdest week ever! Sorry I didn't write in you the past few days but, it's been mad crazy, I'm shocked I actually have a little bit of by-myself-time right now. _

_School has been crazy. I think all of the teachers have been drinking evil juice or something with all of the homework they've been piling on us. But, it hasn't been so bad; Kristy has been out sick, thank God! I can't stand that ho. Oh, and Oh! My! God! Kevin Berman has been actually talking to me more. Lisa thinks that he's into me… which would be the coolest cool in the history of all that is cool, but with Kristy tramping around all over school, how would he even notice me? _

_Oh, and Buffy's doing a lot better. She must've gotten knocked around by that snake thing that tried to grab me on Sunday. When she came up to my room, she said that it was nice and dead, but didn't really give any details on how she killed it. She's been acting really weird, her and Giles. And they've been whispering a lot lately, and keeping it from everyone, even Xander and Willow and they're like the uber-Scoobies. _

_But, she's really been having problems with Riley. They've been arguing a lot lately. I really hope they don't break up; she really needs him around with all of this stuff. It's not like he's Angel, y'know, the cause of the problem, he's a sweet guy even if he does call me a kid. I wish I had a boyfriend… but I do have "girlfriend"! Mikaela, Sam and the Autobots (that's just the coolest name) are coming up later today. It'll be so cool to see them._

_Oh yeah, after the snake guy, I had to promise Optimus and Ironhide that I'd call them the next day. I did. Optimus was all sweet and stuff while Ironhide was acting all irritated and tough. What is it with guys trying to act all tough when they obviously care? He's like a full-metal Wolverine from X-Men. They both tried to press me for details but I said I had to motor or I'd miss the bus. They don't call the house since they don't know who'll answer. I feel like crap keeping stuff from them which is weird since I've only known them for a week but they're the coolest bunch of friends a girl could ask for. Just like Mom's the coolest mom a girl could want._

_She's been in the hospital since last week. They want to keep her until her scheduled surgery to get the tumor out. I still can't believe she has a brain tumor. I mean, yeah, even though I had a giant robot tell me, somehow hearing it from the doctors was that much worse. I've mainly been at the hospital and she's been getting a little weird. She's been saying weird things every now and then. I hope she'll be okay. I don't know what I'd do without her, and I really hope I don't have to find out. _

Dawn sighed as she closed her notebook and shoved it inside of her Hello Kitty bag and leaned back against the tree she sat under as she waited for Riley to pick her up from school. Ever since the whole snake thing, everything's been really wonky. Right now she was just glad it was dead, although she'd feel a lot better if she had a cool giant robot parked by her window… But then there would be the whole explaining it to Buffy thing if something attacked her and one of her new metal friends saved her butt.

She gave a sigh. She was so glad that they were coming by today. She really needed an escape. School was a good escape with all of the numbers, and books and homework, but after school she had to return to the world where snake demons came through her window and tried to take her, where her mother was sick and her sister was keeping whispering things about her with Giles.

With an irritated sigh, she just let her mind wander. She sometimes could feel, or thought she could feel, Ironhide, or at least pick up on his emotions. If that were true then he was really cranky a lot of the time. She didn't pick up much but sometimes she got a nice blast of annoyance that she knew wasn't hers. It freaked her out and made her think that whatever it was that was linking them together was just a huge pain in the butt. She had enough problems right now; she didn't need to go emo-trouncing into someone else's.

She shifted her position and winced when her arm hit the tree. She glanced down at the bandages covering both of her upper arms. That snake guy had really taken a chunk out of her.

She heard the sound of a car pull up a few feet away but it sounded to light to be Riley's truck so she didn't bother looking up.

"Dawn!"

The young girl's head snapped up at the sound of the voice and she broke into a huge grin at the sight of the yellow and black Camero.

"Sam! Mikaela! Hi!"

Bolting to her feet, she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and quickly got into the car. She leaned forward and gave both older teens a hug. "I thought you guys weren't getting here until eight or something?"

"Half day." Was Sam's answer.

"Arf!"

Mojo quickly made his presence known by hopping into her lap. Dawn giggled and lifted the Chihuahua. "Hey, cutie!" She giggled as the little dog happily licked her face. "Doggie spittle!" She whined and leaned over to peer at the steering wheel. "Hi, Bee! I missed you."

_'Yeah, yeah, I missed you!'_

"Oh! Thank God you guys came early, this week has been crap!" She looked around. "Where's everybody else?"

"The lookout…" Sam began. "What's it called…?"

"Kingman's Bluff." Dawn reminded him.

"Dawn?"

All three teens looked up to see Riley pulled up next to them and the youngest sighed. "Oh man… I kinda forgot he was supposed to be getting me."

"Hi." Mikaela greeted and Sam waved.

"Riley, I'm sorry…" She made an apologetic face. "But…"

"You want to go hang out with your friends instead of having you sis's boyfriend drag you around?" He guessed with a smile and she gave him a sheepish smile. He gave a small laugh. "It's cool. I'll leave you guys to your teenage shenanigans…" He stopped and made a disbelieving face. "I just said 'teenage shenanigans' didn't I…?" He shook his head and started his engine. "I've got to stop hanging around Giles…"

"As long as you don't get swallowed by tweed, you'll be fine. " Dawn giggled as Bumblebee started up and she waved. "Bye!"

Riley waved as the teens pulled away from the school but stopped when he noticed that the license plate on the back of the yellow Camero was not from California but Nevada.

S.S.S

"Well there, how're ya feeling?"

Barricade blinked his newly regenerated optics a couple of times, taking in everything around him. He looked inside the apartment at the old man and his reluctant partner.

"Better."

"Good." The old man smiled at him then looked between him, Frenzy and his granddaughter. "Well, I'm going to bed now. You kids play nice." And with that he was gone.

Frenzy watched the old lizard demon leave before turning back to the group. He was perched on the window sill during the entire process, watching with intense fascination. That who magic thing these demons did was processor-boggling.

"I don't understand one thing, demon."Barricade began, redirecting everyone's attention to him. "Why didn't you do it? You said a human week and then you would be able to repair me?"

"She's d-doing other magic thing." Frenzy began. "K-keeping the A-autobots off our afts."

Barricade's optics widened and he snarled. "The Autobots are here?!" He activated his scanners and ducked back into the alley. "Slag!"

He quickly hid behind the building, peeking out into the alley as the Autobots headed down the street. Frenzy had also hid, diving into the apartment while Shelly just leaned out the window to watch them.

"So… yeah, we'd better get moving." She said once they were well out of the area.

S.S.S

"Bee!!"

Dawn rushed straight for the yellow bot, wrapping her arms around his chin when he bent down to her level. The yellow scout made a sound that reminded her of laughter as he cupped his hand around her back, gently stroking her head with his thumb.

"Geez, this must be how Mr. Tibbles feels…" She giggled.

"Who?" Ratchet asked in confusion.

"My friend's hamster."

She detached herself from Bee and turned to Optimus and threw her arms open. "No hug?! That's it… its tear-time."

"Oh, no. We can't have that." Optimus chuckled and bent down to her level and she wrapped her arms around the red and blue mech's face, squeezing as hard as she could as he gave her back a careful stroke.

She let him go and then looked up at the CMO. His facial plating shifted into slight smile and he bent down. "You've been well, I hope?" He asked as she hugged him.

"Eh…" Was her answer as she pulled away and moved to Ironhide.

"You want a hug, don't you?"

She gave him a smile. "Please, you know you love me."

"Keep telling yourself that." But he bent down and let the girl latch onto his face.

Both felt a strange jolt but managed to not show anything. Although it didn't seem like Dawn was going to let go anytime soon.

"I'm going to need my face back, kid."

Dawn let go and gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry… and sorry I… y'know, scared the… uh… motor oil out of you."

The black Autobot looked down at her and grunted. "Don't worry about it. Not your fault."

She gave him a relieved smile and sat down on a rock next to him.

"Dawn, I heard about that perv who came at you." Sam said. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah… I'm fine. And don't worry…" She added to the bots. "It's all handled."

"So you've gone to your authorities?" Optimus asked.

_Nope. _

"Mm-hmm." She nodded.

"How is your mother?" Ironhide asked suddenly.

Dawn looked up at him and sighed. "She's… still in the hospital. She has surgery scheduled sometime soon. They've been keeping her there until then… She's…" she took a shaky breath and quickly wiped away a tear. "She's been saying weird things a lot… Willow said it's because of the thing that's pressing on her brain."

"I'm sorry…" Mikaela sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and Sam took her other side. Even Mojo attempted to comfort the girl by settling at her feet and resting his head on her shoe.

"Thanks guys…" She gave a light smile.

"She should be fine," Ratchet said. "It was detected early enough for them to get rid of it."

"And like I said, if she's anything like you, she'll be all right."

Looking up at the Weapon's Specialist, she smiled a delighted smile while Sam and Mikaela exchanged glances.

"Um, can I ask you a question?" Dawn asked.

"What is it?"

Dawn scuffed her feet on the grassy ground. "Um… are you picking up stuff from me?"

The irritated grunt he made answered her question for her.

"It's irritating being emotionally linked to a youngling female, I'll have you know." He gave her an annoyed glare which shifted to a look of curiosity. "Why? You're picking up things?"

"Yeah!" She folded her arms across her chest. "I mean, it's bad enough I got this crap going on and now I'm getting secondhand drama thrown in my head." She made that sound he figured only irritated femmes could make and then arched a brow at him. "You're really cranky a lot, aren't you?"

"Only when I'm catching your estrogen."

At that both Dawn and Mikaela's mouths dropped open and Sam instantly fell into laughter. Bumblebee just scooted backwards as if saying he didn't want to be caught in the middle of two angry femme's wrath.

"I take it he said the wrong thing?" Optimus asked Sam who nodded.

"Oh yeah…"

"What?!" Dawn exclaimed as Mikaela fisted her hands on her hips.

"Catch her estrogen?!" The mechanic repeated incredulously.

Ironhide just eyed the two outraged girls in confusion. "What? Sarah said your emotions were caused by estrogen…"

Both girls eyed him for a minute before turning to each other.

"What do you think?" Dawn whispered.

"We'll let him slide this once…" Mikaela whispered back before turning back to the confused mech.

"You're forgiven." They said in unison while Ironhide sighed.

_Will was right, human females are crazy_

S.S.S.S

"Okay… so… the Slayer bitch knows something about my Key… this is why she keeps screwing with me."

Glory was pacing back and forth across the warehouse floor, growing highly irate. It's been a week since she tried anything, a week since Sobek failed and since she had to lay the hurt on that shitty Decepticon-thingy.

She cast a glance at Starscream. The damage she inflicted on him was healing, which was weird. Robots could heal? Dig that? He was currently sitting upright, one eye closed. She guessed he was handling the pain. He sure had made a hell of a lot of noise when she ripped his metal skin stuff. Afterward he had made pulled it back, making small repairs here and there.

Turning away from the injured Decepticon she turned to Jinx. "WHERE THE HELL IS RINA!?"

She was beginning to weak and need to rejuvenate herself. She stopped her pacing and placed her hands on the table, gasping heavily. She was vaguely aware of the robot in the shield eying her but she didn't care. She whimpered as she began to weaken, sweat dripping down her forehead.

"Goddess! I got one!"

Glory's head snapped up when she saw Rina dragging in a guy in a red and white striped shirt by his thinning hair.

"Lady, what the Hell is your damage?!" The frightened man cried out.

Starscream straightened a bit more and watched the spectacle. Rina dragged the squishy toward Glory, who up until now, he thought was invulnerable. The two demon males, Jinx and Dreg took Glory by her upper arms and helped her stagger to where Rina held the man.

"Drink!" Dreg urged, lifting Glory's hands to the man's head.

Starscream's internals momentarily stopped at the strange and horrifying sight. Glory's fingers slid into the man's head, not puncturing the skull, but slid in as if there were hidden ports for her fingers to go. A bright light spilled out and the man moaned while Glory let out an audio-busting shriek that lasted for several minutes. After a while the light faded, the man's groans ceased and Glory's shriek subsided into a long, blissful sigh as her fingers slid out and she slumped happily to the ground, no longer sweaty and weak.

"Damn, that's much better…" She sighed and then frowned when the man had slumped over on top of her. She grunted in disgust and swatted him off of her as if he were a fly, sending him crashing into a wall.

"Rini…" She began as she got to her feet. "Don't cut it so close next time."

"Apologies…" The blonde demon bowed.

A groan from the man had everyone looking in his direction. The human stood and looked around with this spaced out look on his face.

"I know you all want my goodies… and they get you all hot and bothered…" He accused them all and then his eyes fell on Starscream and he tilted his head to the side. "Hey, didn't we date in college?"

Starscream's optic tilted in confusion while Rina and Gronx giggled.

"What the slag is wrong with the squishy?" Starscream directed at Jinx who just snickered and busily tidied up the place.

The man regarded Starscream for a moment longer. "You left me for that football player… I remember…" He reached his hand to his head. "Where's my hat…" Then he just slowly stumbled out of the warehouse while the demons just watched him with amused expressions.

"Yeah…" Glory sighed and then clapped her hands. "Okay, that little skank bitch knows something about my Key… I think it's time I sent her a message…" She wandered over to the couch, devious smile lighting her features. "And I know just how to do it…"

S.S.S.S

"A Nevada plate?"

Buffy's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked up at her boyfriend. The two were entering the hospital to visit Joyce along with Willow and Tara and Riley informed her about the out-of-state plate on her sister's friend's car.

"It's probably no biggie." Willow put in. "He might have a relative from there and begged him to borrow the car…"

"It is a really cool car…" Riley admitted and Buffy nodded in agreement.

"I'll ask Dawn later." Buffy said. With a hell whore after her little sister she wasn't really that concerned with a teenage boy with an out-of-state plate.

"Or you can ask her now. She's right over there." Tara pointed over to the waiting area.

Buffy looked up to see Dawn heading towards the ladies room. She quickly caught up to her and tapped her shoulder.

"Dawn."

The brunette turned around. "Oh, hey Buffy. Did Riley tell you I went with Sam and Mikaela because-"

"Don't worry," Buffy cut her off, "It's fine. I just have a question."

"What's that?" Dawn asked as she bent down to get a drink from the fountain.

"Riley said Sam's car had a Nevada license plate… What's up with that?"

Buffy didn't know it but Dawn was so glad that her back was to her at the moment and she couldn't see the look of dread on her face as she pretended to drink water. She took a few sips, thinking of a lie.

"It's his brother's car…"

"Hmm… That's what Willow said…" Buffy mused.

_Whew!_

"Wait, but what about last week?"

_Uh-oh! Think damn it!_

"His flew to somewhere for a while and he's letting him use it."

"Oh." Buffy seemed to buy it. "Come on, let's go see mom."

Dawn nodded. "Lemme go pee first." She rushed into the ladies room and then after a few minutes came back out. "Okay, I'm ready…"

As the group made their way upstairs she slipped the paper towel she had quickly wrote on into Sam's hand. He lagged behind as he read Dawn's instructions.

"Got it…" Sam chuckled and slid the note in his pocket.

"What?" Mikaela asked.

"I'll tell you later…"

They made their way to Joyce's room while the two sisters entered Joyce's room, the rest stayed outside.

Joyce looked up to see her two girls in the doorway and smiled, albeit awkwardly at Dawn.

"Buffy… can I talk to your sister alone please?" She asked.

Buffy blinked but obliged, exchanging curious glances with Dawn before leaving.

Once she was gone, Joyce patted the bed and asked her to sit down.

"What's up, Mom?" Dawn asked.

Joyce sighed and cleared her throat. "Dawnie… I'm just going to come out and say it… You and that girl Mikaela… Are you two…together?"

It was like someone unclogged a drain and the color just spilled from Dawn's face.

S.S.S.S

Outside, Buffy kept sending glances at the door. What did Mom need to talk to Dawn about and why could she be in the room. A few minutes had passed before the door opened and Dawn poked her head out. Her face was surprisingly red. Buffy got up to go inside but Dawn shook her head.

"Not yet…" She glanced over at the group. "Mikaela…" She motioned for her to come inside and the brunette exchanged a concerned glance with Sam before getting up and going inside. Before closing the door, Dawn sent Buffy a poisonous glare.

"Traitor." And then she went inside and shut the door.

Buffy blinked in confusion and then her eyes widened. Her mom knew about Dawn and Mikaela! "But… I didn't… I never said a word…" She stopped and then turned to fidgeting redhead next to her.

"Oops…" Anya muttered for the second time that day while everyone just either glared at her or gave her exasperated looks.

s.s.s

Inside, Mikaela sat down in the chair next to the bed and gave Joyce a smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Summers."

Joyce smiled awkwardly. "You too, dear…" She took a deep breath. "I know about your relationship with my daughter."

Mikaela flinched and her eyes flicked to Dawn's in shock. Dawn just mouthed 'Buffy' before gesturing for her to return her attention back to her mother.

"Oh…" Was all the former car thief had to say.

"Don't get me wrong, it "freaked me out" at first." Joyce said with a smile and both girls managed a weak laugh. "But, you seem like a very sweet girl and Dawn could do much worse…" She exchanged a glance with Dawn, both of them remembering Buffy's exploits with Angel before turning back to the embarrassed girl in the chair.

"But, considering what I went through with her sister there's something I want to ask you and I want you to answer me honestly."

Mikaela nodded, bracing herself. "Okay…"

Joyce sighed. "Okay… here goes. Mikaela, are you sleeping with my daughter?"

Mikaela's eyes nearly popped out of the sockets and her face was beet red. She struggled for words while Dawn popped out of her seat.

"Mom!" She squealed in embarrassment.

"Mrs. Summers…" Mikaela began as she shoved a hand through her hair. "No, I'm not… We've… never even went farther than kissing…"

_Oh God! This is so awkward! Those bots better love me forever!_

Joyce nodded, seemingly relieved but continued. "Do you want to sleep with her?" She asked in a firm voice.

"Mom!"

_Good Lord, how do I answer that…?_

She cast a glance at Dawn before clearing her throat. "That's… so not on my mind at this part of the relationship…" She took a deep breath. "And Dawn already said she's not doing anything until she's like eighteen and in extreme love."

That seemed to satisfy Joyce and she smiled. "Okay then, the two of you have my blessing. Just be careful with my little girl's heart, okay?"

Mikaela nodded. "Promise."

Joyce sat up and beckoned for Mikaela to come closer. When she did she reached out and gave the girl a hug. The brunette smiled and hugged her back before quietly exiting the room. Joyce then turned to her daughter and smiled.

"Dawn, you certainly caught a cute one."

"Oh my God…" Dawn just let her head fall into her hands.

s.s.s

They had stayed for a few hours Joyce insisted that they go out and have fun. So, they all headed over to the Bronze. It was there that Buffy learned that while she bested Dawn in most things her little sister was the Master of the Dance Floor and Riley, Xander and Willow had a mortifyingly embarrassing moment.

"Whoa… check her out…" Riley had smirked, watching the hot little brunette in the black halter and pale blue skirt with her back to them before getting a glare from his girlfriend.

"Mmm… Daddy like…" Xander smirked.

"Stop staring at her like that." Anya hissed. "You're only supposed to stare at me like that!"

Willow just smiled appreciatively before getting a glare from Tara who would never admit she was checking the girl out as well.

"You perverts, that's Dawn!" Anya exclaimed.

Everyone's attention went back to the dance floor and they gasped at the sight of Dawn twisting to the lyrics, arm draped around another hot brunette's waist while Sam just stood back and watched with a look of total awe on his face.

"W-what… Where'd she learn that?!" Buffy exclaimed as Dawn twisted and moved to Disturbed's "This Moment". "And where'd she get that outfit!"

"She did go back home for a bit and Mikaela and Sam went with her. Maybe they went to go change…" Tara offered, face red with shame.

"Perverts." Anya muttered at the two men and two women who all averted their eyes in shame.

"Oh God…" Riley muttered.

"You were eyeballing my sister!"

"I didn't know it was her!" The soldier defended himself.

And after an extremely awkward night to which the teenagers were completely oblivious to the reason why, they went their separate ways. Buffy and Riley had gone to patrol while the Scoobies had gone to get clothes since they were planning another weekend sleepover.

After patrolling, Riley had told Buffy that he had to go home, that he was tired.

Xander and Anya had made it back to the Summers' residence after the teens. The two witches however, they had to cut through the cemetery and they were attacked by a group of vampires. Buffy had fortunately dusted one but the other, a blonde female, had pounced on Tara but once she saw Buffy rushing towards her with a stake she lost her game face and took off.

During the walk back to the Summers' house, Tara had a strange feeling she had seen that girl before.

At the house, the Scoobies were all in the living room, still stuffing their faces. The girls had put the slight horror of the night behind them. Now, the three teens were all in Dawn's room again.

S.S.S.S

"How's it going, Joyce?"

Joyce looked up at the handsome intern and smiled. "Just fine, Ben, thank you. My girls were in her today. It was… interesting…" She chuckled.

Ben returned her smile and started to jot something down on his clipboard when it suddenly fell out of his hands.

"Oh no…" He clutched at his head and Joyce eyed him in concern.

"Ben, are you all right…?"

The words never reached Ben's ears as his hair began to switch from dark brown to curly blonde.

S.S.S.S

"ARF! ARF!"

"REOW!"

The three teens exchanged glances before Sam rolled his eyes and stood.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to get Mojo before he terrorizes Tara's kitten." He said and headed out of the room. He could hear Mikaela's voice as he left.

"Oh, Dawn, I've been meaning to ask you. Have you seen this girl around here? Her name's Caramia."

Sam found Mojo barking at the small cat furiously while she shook in fear. "Mojo!" He scolded and lifted the little dog into his arms. "No! Bad dog!"

Willow had just come from the kitchen to see what had happened and frowned when she found Miss Kitty Fantastico on top of the china cabinet.

"What happened?"

"Mojo's being a butt." Sam answered as he set Mojo down to pluck up the frightened kitten and handed her back to her co-owner. "Sorry…"

"Oh, no problem…" She smiled and began cooing at the still shaken kitten. "Its okay, Mojo's just playing…"

Sam, with the Chihuahua under his arm went into the kitchen to get another cup of juice when he heard Buffy speaking with the rest of her friends.

"I mean the other stuff I can handle but… evil robot cop cars trying to kill me with bugged out little partners…?" The blonde let out a sigh. "This is just too much."

Sam froze and moved to hide behind the wall, eyes wide.

_What the Hell? Barricade is here? And that little creepy one that tried to kill me? But… he's dead!_

Taking a deep breath he moved to the front door. He had to let Bumblebee know about this.

S.S.S

"Aw… crap…" Tara muttered.

"Something wrong, baby?" Willow asked with the kitten in her arms.

"I forgot to pack a night shirt…." She looked over at Buffy. "Can I borrow some pajamas?"

"Hmm… maybe you should try Dawn. I'm all midgety and stuff. Hers might fit you better."

Tara nodded and left to head up the stairs. As soon as she left, Buffy's cell phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Howdy, Slayer."

Buffy went pale at the sound of the snobby voice. "Glory…"

Everyone looked up in shock at Buffy but she paid them no mind. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say hi." The other female scoffed. "God, why does everyone think I want something? Can't a girl just call the constant pain in her ass and say 'what's up?'"

"What do you want?" Buffy repeated with more steel in her voice.

"Like I said…" The bitch began. "I just wanted to say hi… and to tell you that I have your mom and if you ever want to see her again, you'll hand over my key or tell me where it is."

S.S.S.S

"Sorry guys, I didn't see anyone who looks like that…" Dawn handed Mikaela back her camera phone with the picture of Trent's little sister.

The older girl sighed and leaned back against the headboard. "Do you think that pervert who came at you got her?"

"I don't know…" Dawn answered honestly.

"Dawn. Mikaela."

Both girls looked up to see Optimus in the window. Dawn's eyes widened and she quickly rushed over.

"Dude! Can't this wait or something?" She hissed.

"Dawn, is there something you've been keeping from us?"

The younger girl froze. _Oh crap._ "No… Why?"

The leader regarded her with a gaze that made her feel five years old. "I ran a search and no one has even reported an attempt to abduct any young girl within the past week. You told us you reported what happened to you to your authorities."

_Oh_ double _crap!_

Dawn fidgeted under the intense gazes of both Optimus and Mikaela. How the Hell was she going to get herself out of this one?

"Guys…" She began.

"Why would you lie about that?" Mikaela asked and Dawn shoved a hand through her hair.

"Okay… what had happened was…" She took a deep breath. "There was no reason to call it in… It was taken care of… Buffy took care of it."

Both of them exchanged glances and turned back to the young girl.

"What do you mean?" Mikaela asked.

"Dawn, do you mean that she killed the one who attacked you?" Optimus asked.

Dawn opened her mouth to answer but stopped when the door opened.

"Hey, Dawn, sorry to bother you, but I want- WHOA!!"

Dawn gasped at the sight of Tara filling the doorway, eyes wide with shock and fright.

"Uh-oh…" Mikaela and Optimus muttered in unison.

"Tara…" Dawn began.

The blonde witch quickly raised her hand and swung it.

"BACK!"

Both girls cried out as an invisible forced hurled the both into the wall and they were unable to move.

"What the Hell did she-" Mikaela started but her attention was turned back to the blonde who shakily raised her arm again and swung it in a shocked Optimus's direction.

"What did you-" The startled robot began right as Tara shouted "DRESSER!" And the white bureau flew from the wall, to the window, smashing into the Autobot's face.


	20. Quarrels

Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers the movie_ or_ Buffy the Vampire Slayer._ Transformers belongs to Hasbro and the movie belongs to Michael Bay and DreamWorks while Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

S.S.S.S

"BACK!"

A strange electromagnetic wave crackled around the blonde woman and Optimus felt his systems freeze in shock when the young female raised her arm and some invisible force sent both Dawn and Mikaela flying into the wall and held them there. He turned his wide optics to the girl who was staring at him, body tensed. He felt that strange crackle over his sensors.

"What did you-" He began to demand of her at the same moment she raised her hand in his direction.

"DRESSER!"

All he saw was white painted wood flying at him for a brief moment and then his vision pixilated upon impact and he cried out in pain, automatically clamping a hand over his abused face. He staggered back in shock, his massive foot crushing part of the fence and narrowly missing Xander's car in the driveway. He was aware of arguing inside the home as well as the sound of a transformation sequence.

Inside the room Tara fought to control her breathing as she released Dawn and Mikaela from immobilization. There was a thump as both girls fell to the floor.

"Get out, now!" She yelled at the two before focusing again, this time he eyes landed on the taller bureau and it began to shake.

"Bur-UMMPH!" She was cut off by a hand closing around her mouth. The bureau had stopped shaking.

She looked at Dawn in shock as the teenager removed her hand and gave her an outraged look. "Tara! No!"

"But-"

Dawn paid her no mind and rushed over to the window, much to the young witch's horror, and leaned out to check on the mechanical beast.

"Optimus, are you okay?"

Tara blinked in confused shock. Dawn knew this thing's name?! She opened her mouth to 

question her but stopped when more heavy footsteps sounded, slightly shaking the house.

"Prime, what happened?!" A deep voice demanded and Dawn leaned further out of the window.

"Ironhide?"

A huge robotic face appeared in the window and Tara shrieked in fright, backing up and tripping over Mikaela who was just starting to pick herself up.

"Dawn, what are those things?!"

Dawn whirled around in fury, ready to rip into the blonde for calling her friends things, not caring that the response was clearly understandable when the sound of running footsteps came from down the hall.

"Guys, you okay-WHOA!!"

Inwardly, Dawn winced.

_Oh crap…_

"Willow!" A frightened Anya called from her spot along the wall, "We need some serious mojo here!"

From somewhere in the house a small Chihuahua barked at the sound of its name.

More footsteps hurried up the stairs but instead of the redheaded witch it was Xander and in his hand was the present he had gotten Buffy for her seventeenth birthday-the rocket launcher he'd stolen from the Army Base outside of Sunnydale.

"Everybody get down!" He yelled, taking aim at Optimus only to be taken down by an incoming Dawn-missile tackling him by the waist and they both skidded into the hall, knocking into Willow who had just come up the stairs.

"Dawn?!" Willow cried in outrage but rolled over to her stomach, not bothering to get up she began to focus, her hair covered her eyes which were now pitch-black.

"Goddess Hecate, work thy will-UMPH!!"

Tar colored eyes reverted back to green and widened in shock as Willow struggled against Dawn who had torn herself from Xander and was now latched onto her back, hand covering her mouth.

"Willow, no! They're my friends!"

"What?!" Xander, Anya and Willow exclaimed in unison.

"Optimus, what happened… and why do you have female clothing on your head?" Ironhide demanded of his leader.

"What had happened was-" Dawn began

"I was hit with a dresser by that girl!" Optimus beat her to the punch and Ironhide whirled shocked optics on her.

"What'd you do that for?!"

Dawn drew back in insulted outrage. "I didn't do it! She did!" She pointed at Tara who was not so much afraid as she was confused.

"I… but… he…" The poor blonde had no idea what to say.

"She hardly looks strong enough to lift a dresser and hit Optimus with it." Ironhide scoffed and now it was Tara's turn to look insulted but she kept quiet. Everyone else on the other hand…

"That's because she's a witch…" Dawn explained and Mikaela gasped.

"What?!"

"What the Hell are those things?!" Xander demanded.

"Dawn's friends…?" Anya mused at Xander, getting over the shock more quickly than the others.

"Watch it!" Ironhide growled at the same time Dawn turned to the boy, anger crackling off her in waves.

"Don't call my friends things!"

"You knew about this and didn't tell us?" Willow looked shocked and hurt. "Dawn, how could you?"

"I can't believe you'd do something like this…" Xander shook his head in outraged disbelief.

"Because you'd wig!" The girl answered.

"Well… yeah! There are giant robots outside; I think that's pretty wig-worthy." Willow shot at the teenager.

Outside, Ironhide cycled a sigh and turned to his leader. "Are you sure I can't take this bunch out?" he asked and Optimus glanced at him from the corner of his optic while busily trying to work something out of the other one.

"Ironhide…"

"Yeah, yeah… I know…" The black mech grumbled, looking rather put out.

"Wait a minute!" Willow yelled, getting everyone's attention. She took a deep breath to steady herself before speaking. "Okay… so Dawn knows you guys?" She directed this question at the black one since the red and blue one was currently picking at one if its eyes, strange mechanical noises coming from it as well.

"Yes."

"When did this happen?" Xander asked.

"A week ago…" Dawn answered, arms folded across her chest. Ordinary she'd be nervous but their constant accusing pissed her off. "It was last Friday… after the fight with Tara."

While the explanation was going on Tara eased over to the window where the giant one she'd smacked with the dresser was currently rubbing it's eye, noise that she thought were out of annoyance emitted from somewhere in its throat.

"Um… hey…"

Optimus stopped picking at his optic to see the one who had hurt him at the window, a nervous yet apologetic look on her face. "Something wrong?"

If he had been impatient and grumpy like Ironhide or Ratchet he would've snapped at her, telling her it was her fault that he was in this predicament but he didn't. "Something is in my optic and it's rather irritating."

The young female cast her eyes down guiltily. "I'm sorry… It's just…" She shook her head. "Lemme see."

He obliged her, removing his hand from his left optic and she leaned forward to see what was wrong. After a moment her mouth fell open and she drew back.

"Oh my God!" She began to stammer.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I-it looks like a piece of wood…"

"Can you reach it?"

"Uh…"

"Please… This is really beginning to hurt."

A guilty look crossed her face and she let out a sigh and then nodded. She leaned as far out the window as she could but still couldn't reach. He held his hand out in front of the window and she looked at it hesitantly for a moment before slowly placing her foot in his palm and then the other. Her eyes widened a bit as he lifted her toward his optic and then she relaxed once she was no longer being moved around.

Peering into his optic, she reached forward and grabbed the small piece of wood; it was about as big as a table leg but must've been an extreme pain for him. She yanked and he made a strange mechanical whining noise. She gasped and let get.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Don't worry about it. Just get that thing out." He sounded rather irritated and she really couldn't blame him.

She reached forward and yanked again but it was stuck in there good. She used both hands and even had to place her foot on his cheek for leverage. She gritted her teeth and grunted as she pulled with all her strength. She could practically feel him shaking and the strange noises he made were increasing in volume.

"Sorry." She grunted and yanked one more time as hard as she could.

The offending object popped out of the socket and sent her flying back. She felt her stomach drop as the thought of falling two stories flashed through mind but instead of pavement, her back his metal and she looked up to see the blue and red mech looking down at her. His mouth tilted into what she figured was a smile though his left optic twitched a bit.

"Thank you…" He paused for a moment. "What is your name?"

She grunted at the slight pain from the impact and pushed herself to sit up in his palm. "Tara… Tara Maclay."

He gave her a nod. "My name is Optimus Prime. Thank you, Tara Maclay."

"No problem…"

She then looked over the edge of his hand at the ground below them and swallowed a wave of uneasiness which was short-lived since he moved her back to the window. She climbed back inside and was met with the shocked looks of her friends and she gave a fidgety shrug. "I hit him with a dresser, it was the least I could do."

Dawn gave a smile, relieved that at least one of the Scoobies was taking this well. She looked over at the others. Willow still looked uneasy but she could tell that the redhead's inner nerd was surfacing by the way she was looking at the two as well as Xander's inner geek. Anya just flicked her eyes back and forth between the two mechs in curiosity, not looking the least bit afraid. It was hard to be afraid of a mech who caught the same girl who planted him a facer with a dresser.

"Okay... I don't think they're gonna hurt us." Anya said finally.

"Told you…" Dawn muttered at the group.

Willow seemed to consider this for a moment and stepped forward, obviously taking over role as Scooby leader in Giles and Buffy's absence.

"Okay… But, h-how do we know that? How do we know you're not going to, like, gain our trust and stuff and then stomp on us later?"

"Will, look at him… us tiny, him huge… What are we gonna do?" Dawn asked in annoyance. "If he wanted to kill me he could've done it a week ago."

"A week?!" Xander demanded in shock.

"Xander, please not now…" Dawn sighed.

"Guys." Willow held up a silencing hand and when Xander looked ready to argue she sent him a chilling glare before returning her attention to the robot.

"Okay… Dawnie makes a point… But then, what are you doing here? Who are you? And how do you know Dawn?"

"And why is there a bra on your antenna thingy?" Anya spoke up from next to Xander.

The red and blue bot blinked and everyone else looked at him with furrowed brows as he lifted a massive hand to his left antenna and slowly removed the black and pink Hello Kitty bra. He held it between two fingers and brought it to the window.

"Dawn, I believe this is yours."

At that the tension level went down a few notches. Xander, Anya, and Willow fought back snickers and even Mikaela seemed to forget her fear and smirk as Tara scratched the back of her head and sent an apologetic look to Dawn who flushed bright red but rushed forward to snatch the offending garment.

"Thanks." She grumbled before tossing it into her closet.

"Okay… so… I guess we can believe that you're not going to smash us into mush piles or anything so…" The redhead gave a bright smile. "Hi! I'm Willow!" The other witch gave a hesitant wave. "Sorry about… the trying to blow you up… thing."

Ironhide blinked in confusion. The boy was the one who was wielding the rocket launcher, not the girl. "You weren't the one with the launcher." At that the brunette boy took a few steps back and kicked the rocket launcher under the bed.

"Oh, she means she was going to magically blow you up." The other redhead spoke calmly. "Like the way Tara smacked the big one with Dawn's dresser."

"Anya…" Xander muttered and she sighed in annoyance.

"What?!" Ironhide yelled and Dawn winced at the headache sensing another's emotions caused.

"Dude… take a chill pill." The teenager muttered.

"I'm sorry…" Willow whined. "It's just… what, with the evil cop car thing running around… I was a little biased." She gave a sheepish half smile. "It won't happen again…"

Both Ironhide and Optimus turned to the witch in surprise. "What was that?"

"Evil cop car? Barricade?!" Mikaela gasped from the floor.

"That's the thing's name?" Anya asked. "Pretty pretentious." She mused but then turned to the bots in the window. "Yeah, there was this evil robot cop car thing trying to kill Buffy so… we're a little jumpy about giant robots…"

"Then there was that creepy little thing…." Xander continued. "It shot CD shurikens at us!" He let out a small laugh. "It was so…" He looked up to see every female giving him 'what the Hell' 

looks and cleared his throat. "It was… creepy…. Not cool in anyway." Even though he clearly thought it was.

"Frenzy!" Ironhide growled. "But he was killed at the battle."

"When was this?" Optimus asked.

"The attack?" Willow asked and he nodded. "Which one?"

At that the two mechs' optics widened while a gasp escaped both teenage girls.

"There was more than one?" Mikaela asked in shock.

"Yeah, last weekend." Anya said and began to count on her fingers. "One was on Saturday and the other Sunday night… And that little bugged mantis thing was lurking around here too. Spike beat it up."

Ironhide processed this information and then turned and accusatory glare on Dawn. "You know about this and didn't tell us?!"

Dawn whirled to him in outrage, her own disbelief battling away the anger she felt coming from him. "I didn't know!" She yelled. "It's not like they ever tell me anything!" She then turned her own glare to the Scoobies. "And why didn't you tell me?"

"Buffy didn't think you needed to know…" Tara said softly in a tone the suggested she thought differently on the matter.

Dawn scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Typical."

Both Ironhide and Optimus tried to scan for the Decepticons but couldn't find them. Perhaps they had moved on. "They're not here now." Optimus said.

"Well, Buffy'll be happy to hear that…" Xander sighed. "The other stuff…" He glanced at the two bots Dawn had kept from them and sighed, patting the younger girl on the shoulder. "Yeah, nice knowing you."

"Hey, why were you guys in Dawn's window?" Willow asked and Optimus answered.

"I was asking her about the nature of her attack on Sunday."

Anya blinked and turned to Dawn. "You told them about the giant snake thing that attacked you?"

Two pairs of optics and one set of blue eyes widened and Dawn wanted to shrink into her skin.

"No, but you just did!" She hissed at Anya.

"Giant snake?" Ironhide asked and Dawn took a few steps back at the suspicious looks she was getting from the two bots and her new friend.

_And triple crap…_

"See… what had happened was…"

While Dawn began to explain, Mikaela glanced around. Where the Hell was Sam?

S.S.S.S

"Buffy!"

The short blonde glanced over her shoulder to see Sam driving behind her and rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for this and she couldn't put him in danger.

"Sam, get back!" She called, not slowing her pace at all. "Go back to the house! NOW!"

Sam didn't even get a chance to reply when the blonde climbed the fifteen foot tall fence lined with barbed wire like it was his neighbor's garden gate in three quick steps and easily landed on her feet on the other side.

"Where did this girl come from?" Sam asked in awe.

Bee wondered that as well since he picked up a heightened energy signal from the girl. Curious, he was about to plow through the fence when a human jumped out in front of him and placed its hands on the hood.

"Dude, what the Hell?" Sam yelled.

It was the same guy who had left with Dawn the first night. "Hello there, mate. Name's Spike" He spoke in a low menacing voice. "Now, you and I are going to have a talk."

Sam wisely stayed inside of Bumblebee as the older man leaned on the hood. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh… I don't know…" Spike pretended to think. "How about creepy robot things going after pretty blonde girls?"

Sam froze and felt the color drain from his cheeks. This guy knew what Bee was? Or did he see Bee and think he was working with Barricade? Did he see Barricade?

"Don't try to look so stupid." Spike scoffed but then arched a brow. "Although I don't think you have to try that hard most of the time…" He straightened himself. "I know all about the creepy little bugger with the little CD things. Went up against the little wanker myself and nearly caught it but it ran away like a little pansy."

At this Sam blinked. Why would Frenzy run away from one guy? "Dude, I-"

"Enough! I know one of those robot things is why you now. Not that one but a different. So why don't you be a good lad and let me talk to the little vermin?"

Sam was about to protest when Bee's door suddenly popped open, apparently telling him it was all right. Sam looked at the dashboard inquiringly for a moment before shrugging and getting out of the car.

"Okay…"

Spike stood and waited for something to come scampering out of the car but instead he felt his dead stomach drop as the yellow Camaro broke apart and various parts began to shift. Metal clanged and the yellow car seemed to grow in height and it took on a more human shape. The vampire backed away slowly as the gigantic robot regarded him with flashing blue eyes.

"Oh… bugger…"

"This…" Sam gestured at the yellow mech with a smug smile on his face, "is Bumblebee."

"Uh…Hi…" Spike gave a little wave. "Sorry I threatened your pet human."

"Hey!" Sam cried indignantly.

Bumblebee kneeled down in front of the blonde male and tilted his head in a curious manner and his radio cranked up.

_'In cold blood'_

"What…?" Spike asked intelligently.

"His voice is messed up." Sam offered. "He talks through the radio." The boy then looked up at the mech. "What are you talking about, Bee?"

The radio switched again.

_'You're dead inside… You're dead to me.'_

Spike brightened with realization and Sam's eyes widened in horror. "You're going to kill him just 'cause he was a jerk?!"

Both Spike and Bee gave Sam an exasperated look. "No, you bloody twit." The blonde growled. "I think it means he can tell I'm not exactly grade-A human…" He smirked and let his true face come forward. "Is that right?"

Sam shrieked and scrambled behind Bee's foot while the mech drew back in surprise. "What are you!?" The teenage boy screamed.

"I'm a vampire, you spaz…" Spike growled enjoying the way the boy flinched but his enjoyment was short-lived when the yellow mech gave him what looked remarkably like a glare before tapping his fingers to the side of its head.

Spike jumped back, fearing he was going to get burned by lasers but it was far worse when the robot produced a huge hologram of a cross.

An animal-like roar escaped his throat before a string of curses. "AH!! Bloody Hell!" Spike shielded his eyes as old familiar fear went through him and forced him back. "TURN THAT THING OFF! SODDIN', BLEEDIN' SON OF A WHORE!!"

Coming from behind Bee's ankle, Sam chuckled a bit which pissed Spike off to no end. Fighting the compulsion to shrink away, he bared his fangs and started to charge at the boy when his head nearly exploded in pain as the chip activated and a scream erupted from his throat.

"Whoa… that cross thing's no joke…" Sam muttered.

Bee did not think it was the hologram of the cross he had produced as a test to see if the myth was true. After further scanning the dead human he detected a computer chip inside of its brain. He really didn't know what it was for but he guessed that's what made the vampire scream in pair.

"Say Bee, how'd you know to do that? You look that up that fast?"

In response the theme music to Mikaela's favorite anime Hellsing began to play.

"You have too much time on your hands in the parking lot, Bee."

"Oh yeah…"

Spike calmed down after a while, gripping his head and turned to glare up at the yellow mech. "Cute, really cute." He straightened his shoulders. "So, is there any particular reason you're out following young blonde girls, you perverts?"

Sam scoffed. "We just wanted to talk to Buffy about that thing you saw. Trust me, we hate it as 

much as you do."

Spike used his heightened senses to see if the boy was lying but his heart rate and breathing stayed the same… well, as normal as one can when just encountering the Big Bad himself.

"I kind of want to know that myself." Spike grinned. "I think I'll tag along and ask her."

S.S.S.

"Yoo-hoo! Slayer! Up here!"

Buffy looked up and paled when she saw two curly blonde heads at the top of the factory warehouse and without a moment's hesitation she ran forward and quickly climbed the ladder railing on the outside of the building in record time and stood to face Glory.

"So nice of you to join me, Slayer." The pretty blonde giggled as she held Joyce by her hair.

"Buffy…" The older woman's eyes were wide with fear as she flicked her eyes from her captor to her daughter. "What's going on…? She said something about a key and-AHH!" She cried out when Glory wrenched her head back roughly.

"Shut it, hag. I'm the one who talks." She turned to Buffy who was about to spring forward and held up a hand. "You move and Mommy hear takes a flying lesson."  
Buffy froze though her muscles were tensed as she fought not to attack. "What do you want, Glory?"

Glory smoothed a free hand over the red mini dress and smiled sweetly. "Alrighty, I'm gonna give it to you straight. I know that you have something to do with my key. You either have it or you know something about it." The smile fell from her face and was replaced with a look that could freeze lava. "Tell me. Now."

The short blonde stood frozen in her spot. What the Hell was she supposed to do? If she didn't do as Glory asked she'd lose her mother and Glory would still come after her and the people she cares about until she either killed Dawn or took her, but if she did give up Dawn her mother would hate her and who knew what Glory needed whatever Dawn was made for.

As she fought with herself she thought she heard the sound of Sam's car. Did that little spaz follow her here?!

"Need some time to think…?" Glory asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side. "Okay, I'll give you time. Ten!"

Buffy gasped as Glory counted down.

"Glory…"

A dainty fist tightened in curly blonde hair. Joyce let out a pained cry.

"Nine."

"Buffy…" Joyce whimpered.

The sound of an engine and a fence breaking down. Only Joyce glanced in the direction of the sound.

"Eight."

Buffy tried to calculate if she could punch Glory at least once to make her let go over her mother. Glory seemed to anticipate this as she took a few steps back to the very ledge, dragging her mother with her.

"Seven."

"Glory, let her go!"

"Six. Five-Ugh!" Glory rolled her eyes. "God, it takes you that long to think? No wonder you humans suck."

Without taking her eyes off of Buffy's, Glory gave Joyce a shove back by the hair and sent her over the edge. As she went over, Buffy's heart plummeted as well.

"Oopsie, butterfingers!" Glory giggled in delight.

_**"NO! MOM!!"**_

s.s.s

As the gust of upward wind rushed past her it almost seemed as if the pavement was coming at her in slow motion. Almost like fate wanted to prolong this moment of extreme terror. Her heart was going a mile a minute as she saw the pavement coming at her, the lights zip by her, the huge yellow and black metal hand…

_Huh?!_

Joyce cried out in shock as the huge hand caught her around the middle and there was a sound of metal scraping on concrete. Her breathing was erratic as she stared at the ground that she thought her daughter was going to have to peel her from.

_I'm alive…?_

_And in a big metal hand…_

There was the sound of hydraulics and compressors and the sensation of being lifted higher and a new fear gripped her. The hand that held her loosened its tight hold and transferred her to another hand where she now sat flat in its huge palm.

She looked up, up from the strange yellow and black metal chest that looked like it had headlights and into a strange robotic face with shining blue lights for eyes.

"Oh… this tumor's making me lose it…" She muttered softly in disbelief.

"Is she okay?" A male voice asked and she looked down to see that boy, Sam Wicker…something. The robot tilted its head at her inquiringly.

,i"Annie, are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?"

It might have been the leftover meds or the shock of nearly dying but Joyce was not afraid of this creature, especially when it held her the same way Dawn held Willow's kitten and it looked at her with what she somehow knew was concern. And after five years on the Hellmouth she knew, or hoped she knew, what evil was. That bitch on the roof that is no doubt getting the Hell kicked out of her by her daughter was evil, this gentle giant wasn't.

"I'm fine… Thank you." She gave the yellow mech a shaky smile. "Although my name isn't Annie… but thank you…"

The bot gave her a thumbs up and a nod of his head.

_"You're welcome, welcome."_

Buffy was currently on her knees in despair. She couldn't bring herself to look at the broken corpse of her mother. She hugged her stomach and sobbed loudly, a keening cry escaping her throat.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

The Slayer lifted her head to see Glory looking over the ledge, her expression highly pissed off.

"Why'd the goody robot thingies have to show up now!?" The blonde whined.

Buffy quickly scrambled over and gasped at the sight of a huge yellow and black robot holding her mother in its hand and judging by how pissed off Glory was it wasn't on her side, but it didn't mean it was here to help her either.

"Mom?!" She called down and the robot as well as her mother looked up.

"Everything's okay, Buffy. He saved my life!"

Buffy blinked in confusion and her eyes widened a bit more when she noticed Sam… and that robot had the similar design of his awesome Camaro…

"Your car is one of those?!" She yelled at Sam.

"He's cool! He doesn't hurt people!" Sam called back at her.

Buffy didn't have time to argue that one of those very same things had tried to kill her twice since she was yanked up by her hair by an overly strong hand.

"Damn it! Can't anything go my way!?" Glory whined and punched Buffy hard in the face, sending the Slayer skidding across the warehouse roof. Buffy quickly got to her feet, fueled by rage and unleashed all Hell on Glory. This bitch tried to kill her mom and now she was dead!

s.s.s  
Bumblebee looked up at the sounds of a fight between the two femmes. He knew he was not supposed to harm humans but what that one femme did was unforgiveable. He had a strange, almost Decepticon urge to squish the little bitch.

However those urges were put on hold when he heard footsteps running. Sam looked up and shrank behind Bumblebee at the sight of Spike.

"Oh, bloody Hell. Don't wet your training pants, boy." The British vampire snarled before looking up at Bee. "Um… excuse me, Mr. Giant Robot Thing?"

Bee looked down at the vampire, still unable to believe he was talking to a reanimated dead human.

_"Eh, what's up, Doc?"_

Spike blinked and cleared his throat. "Erm… right…I hope you know there's another one of you blokes not too far from here… And not the ones you've been runnin' around with. The one giving the Slayer a rough time, I gather…" Spike gestured over his shoulder. "And that creepy little bugger is with it too along with a… some kind of demon."

"DEMON?!" Sam cried out in shock and Spike rolled his eyes.

"Yes, demon you bloody moron. Y'know…" He vamped out and smirked when Sam jerked back behind the giant bots leg. "Like this?"

"Spike, stop that!" Joyce yelled disapprovingly and the blonde vamp responded with a roll of his eyes.

"Sorry…"

Bumblebee focused his scanners but was unable to pick up on Barricade or Frenzy at all. He looked down at the walking corpse with a look of confusion on his face plates.

_'I don't feel anything what I was worried for.'_

"Oh God, things are bad enough without Willie Nelson…" Spike muttered before glaring up at the robot. "You can't sense the buggers, is that it?"

Bee nodded while Sam looked back and forth between mech and vampire.

"Well, I sniffed you out; don't you think I can smell one of you sodders coming from a mile away?"

"I don't think you know what you're talking about." Sam cut in. "If Bee can't sense it then-"

"It's that way…" Spike pointed, blatantly ignoring Sam who fumed at the insult. "A little ways away from the Taco Bell."

"How do you know that there's a Taco Bell?" Joyce asked and then gave a sheepish expression at the look Spike gave her. "Right… vampire… super nose…"

Bumblebee focused his scanners again. He still couldn't pick up on Barricade. Maybe the vampire was mistaken? He was sure his scanners weren't malfunctioning since he could easily pick up on the humans.

"GET MY MOM OUT OF HERE!!"

All heads looked up to see Dawn's sister leaning over the ledge before rearing back and punching the taller female in the face.

"SPIKE! GET HER OUT OF HERE!" She yelled again.

Sam looked ready to protest at the notion of leaving Dawn's mom alone with some blood sucking Hell freak but stopped at the look on the vampire's face. He looked like he wanted to rush in and save Buffy but instead he sighed and nodded.

"Right, let's go."

"But what about-" Sam started.

"Don't worry about here, she'll be fine." He cast a glance over his shoulder.  
Bumblebee glanced back for a moment but then transformed back into his alt mode.

Joyce's eyes widened in surprise and she ran a hand over the hood. "That is so…cool."

The trio made their way to the car after its doors popped open. He was worried about Dawn's older sister but their mother had assured them that she would be fine though she couldn't help but spare a worried look back herself. Spike was attempting to comfort her, though he was slightly rude about it. It was clear that he liked Joyce but found Buffy extremely annoying.

"Don't worry, Joyce. Slayer can handle herself… if not I'm sure she'll just yammer the bloody skank's ears off."

Joyce shot Spike a sardonic look and sighed. "Thank you, Spike… I think."  
Spike started to say something but stopped when his nose twitched. "Erm…  
Honey Bee, is it?"

Bee revved in annoyance while Sam stifled a snicker. "It's Bumblebee." The boy corrected.

"Whatever." The vampire shrugged. "That nasty little silver bugger is around here somewhere along with another one of you blokes."

Sam looked in the rearview mirror at Spike only to jolt when there was no reflection except his own. He swallowed the lump of fear in his throat.

"You mean Barricade and Frenzy?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"But Bee said he can't sense them." Sam argued and Spike sighed.

"Fine, don't believe the one hundred plus vamp whose nose has never let 'im down before."

"One hundred years?!" Sam exclaimed and the blonde smirked.

"Sexy for my age, aren't I?"

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, whatever… lead us to Barricade. After we get Mrs. Summers to the hospital."

S.S.S.S

"So, you really can do that?"

Shelly looked up from the book she was reading and nodded at the dashboard. "Yeah… it's not going to be as easy as the thing I did with Frenzy since there's the whole… But, yes… I can do that and you want have to put up with Mr. Flying Bitch Bot as a leader." She then gave him a smile. "And Glory will be pleased as well." She leaned back in the seat and took in the surroundings. They were now taking a shortcut through a warehouse district.

"I don't give a slag." The enforcer grunted and Shelly narrowed her eyes.

"You should be more respectful of a goddess. She could have your coolant pumps for breakfast.

Barricade growled. "Look here, pest." He began just she began mouthing off to him while Frenzy looked back and forth between the dashboard and the girl in the front seat over and over as if here were watching a tennis match.

The little mech grew tired of listening to them rant at each other and watched the road only to gasp when a certain yellow Camaro came around the corner.

"SHIT!" The little Decepticon squealed. Those two slaggers had been so busy tearing each other new afts that they didn't even notice the yellow scout.

Shelly stopped and looked up. "Uh-oh…"

"Slag it!" Barricade growled.

By the looks of things the scout had seen them. He screeched to a stop and his doors popped open. The Witwicky boy, the dead squishy and a human female all scattered out of the car.

"Well… running away isn't an option now…" Barricade mused. "And I was a little tired of pulling Starscreams left and right."

"S-same here." Frenzy agreed.

Shelly seemed to disagree. "Guys…"

Barricade popped his door open and did a hard doughnut so she spilled out while Frenzy hopped out. He transformed just as Bumblebee did. Perfect, he was hoping for a rematch. Releasing his blades he charged at the yellow mech.

Bumblebee braced himself for impact and quickly sent out a signal to the other Autobots right before the enforcer collided with him head on.


	21. Another Night at the Factory

Disclaimer: I do now own _Transformers _the movie or _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Transformers _belongs to Hasbro and the movie belongs to Michael Bay and DreamWorks while _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

A/N: I'm sorry for the long hiatus but things were hectic. Now that everything is straightened out, I have the time to work on the chapters. Okay, on with the show!

S.S.S

"You were attacked by a giant mutant snake?!"

Dawn gave Mikaela a sheepish half smile as the older girl plopped onto the bed in shock. She risked a glance toward the window at the two Autobots. Both of them were looking extremely shocked and she could tell Ironhide was pissed that she didn't tell them the truth.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Optimus asked and she looked down at her shoes.

"I… I don't know." She admitted.

Ironhide grunted in annoyance, causing her to look up.

"You should've told us what happened, Dawn."

Dawn felt her hackles rise again. Gee, this sounded familiar.

"Oh don't get all morally superior on me!" She yelled.

"You think it's a good idea for her to argue with the big robot?" Xander whispered to Anya.

"She lives with Buffy… he'll be quick work." She whispered back.

At the mention of the blonde, Mikaela looked around. "Where's Buffy anyway?" She was the only one here not giving Dawn crap. "And where's Sam?"

Optimus blinked and started to send a message to Bumblebee when a signal came from the scout.

_Prime, Ironhide, Ratchet, this is Bumblebee! I'm in combat with Barricade. Frenzy is with him. Sam is with me along with Dawn's mother and dea-_

Everything went silent which was a sign that the battle had begun.

Optimus and Ironhide exchanged looks before the leader spoke. "That was Bumblebee. He's in battle with Barricade. Frenzy is alive."

Mikaela paled and bolted to her feet. "Where's Sam?!" She demanded.

"He's with him, along with Dawn mother."

Dawn gasped and flopped onto the bed in shock. "Mom's supposed to be in the hospital! What's she even doing there!?"

At that, the Scoobies all exchanged nervous looks. Dawn eyed them all suspiciously before Willow finally spoke.

"Your mom was… kidnapped from the hospital… Glory took her and Buffy went after her…"

Dawn's stomach hit the floor and she bolted to her feet. "And you didn't tell me?!"

"Buffy didn't think you should know…" Anya said. "But if it'd been up to me I would've told you."

"God, are you her sock puppets?" Mikaela muttered under her breath causing all of the Scoobies to look at her.

"What?" Willow demanded.

"Enough!" Optimus snapped making everyone jump. "We'll discuss this later." He turned to Ironhide. "Ironhide, you and I will go aide Bumblebee and hopefully capture Barricade and Frenzy." He sent his plan to Ratchet who was a few blocks away, probably recharging but no doubt awake now. He turned away and Mikaela ran for the door.

"I'm coming too."

"Me too." Dawn said.

"What?! No!" Xander exclaimed but Dawn just scoffed at him.

"No." Optimus stated firmly causing both girls to stop. "It's too dangerous. You two will stay here. Is that understood?" His voice left no room for argument.

"But Sam-" Mikaela started to argue.

"My mom-" Dawn began.

"You two are to stay here." The leader stated with narrowed optics.

"We'll take care of it. You two'll only get in the way." Ironhide growled at them both.

Mikaela's eyes narrowed at that and Dawn looked ready to cry but she still held her ground. "Try and stop me."

Optimus made an irritated sound and was about to speak but Ironhide beat him to it. "Dawn Summers, sit down and can it! You'll stay here and out of the way where you can't slag anything up!"

Dawn's mouth fell open and tears started to fill her eyes. She shook with rage and stormed out of the room. "JACKASS!" She yelled over her shoulder before going into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

"You didn't have to be such an ass!" Mikaela growled at the black and sat down on the bed, arms folded and legs crossed.

Ironhide didn't say anything else but simply transformed and waited out on the street for Optimus. The leader stared at his Weapon's Specialist for a moment before transforming as well.

The two Autobots went to the street and transformed into their alt modes, much to the shocked dorky delight of Xander and Willow. Even the usually level Anya was shocked to see the two shrink in on themselves and turn into the black Topkick that Mikaela was driving and the huge red and blue Peterbilt truck.

"Holy…wows!" Xander gasped.

"Oh my Goddess!" Willow exclaimed. "That was so cool!"

Tara watched in silent amazement as they transformed and then went over to sit next to Mikaela. "I'm sorry about-"

"Not mad at you." The young girl said in a voice that stated she didn't want to talk.

Tara looked a little hurt but moved to leave the girl alone. Mikaela took no notice but looked up when she saw the others moving towards her and she scoffed. If they thought they were going to interrogate her at a time like this then they were sadly mistaken.

She got up from the bed and brushed past them without a word and knocked on the bathroom door. "Dawn, it's me… Can I talk to you?"

S.S.S.

_Not again!!_

That was what went through Sam's mind as he quickly moved away from the two mechs duking it out all over the factory. . He knew full well that Bumblebee could handle himself so he wasn't worried about his gigantic friend, but more about the woman at his side. He pulled Joyce along with him, hoping to get them both to safety and her back to the hospital soon.

"Sam, what's going on?!" She cried out as they darted past buildings.

"I'll explain later!"

He pulled her toward a building which was well away from carnage and fought to catch his breath. "Where's that creepy vamp guy? Can't he fly us out or something…?"

Joyce shook her head and tried to catch her breath. "Vampires can't fly. That's only a myth…" She stopped and though for a moment. "Well, I know that Dracula could fly… I think… I don't really remember."

Sam turned to her in astonishment. "Dracula? _The _Dracula? He's real?"

Joyce gave and embarrassed shrug. "Yeah… he… I tried to hit on him two weeks ago. I didn't know who he was then…" She gave him a smile at his shocked expression. "Trust me… this isn't the only weird thing I've been through over the past five years… Although, Honey Bee… is that his name?"

Sam chuckled and ducked lower at the sound of more crashing. "Bumblebee."

"Ah… well, Bumblebee is a lot sweeter than the last robot I dealt with…" She shivered a bit at the memory of Ted. "Sick freak…" She stopped and looked around. "Where's Spike?"

As if on cue, Spike suddenly landed a few yards away from them with a sickening thud only to groan and get back up again. His face changed and he let out a roar, charging what looked like a brunette female.

"I thought he couldn't hurt people-" Joyce started but then gasped when she got a good look at the girl's face. "Oh, no… demon girl…"

"What!?" Sam whispered loudly and ducked down, new fear swelling through him.

If he had been afraid of Spike, it was squashed the minute he got a good look at the hell bitch the blonde vampire was facing off against. He got a good look at the girl's face, from where he was he could. Her face was reddish brown color with small spikes protruding from the cheek bones and her mouth was a mass of fangs, like the mouth of a piranha and he wasn't sure but he caught the faint impression of golden eyes, slit like a snake.

"Holy shit…"

"Well, well… if it isn't Spike…" She spoke in hissing voice, forked tongue running over her lips. "I would've thought you'd be under the Slayer's table, begging for scraps from what I've heard from the rumors…"

"Shelly…. Finally decided to give the vibrator a rest since no one else'll get near that nasty quim, eh?"

The demon snickered and the two began to circle each other. "How's Dru?" She taunted and smirked at the enraged look on his face.

Spike roared and rushed at her, punching her square in the face. She let out a strange screech and caught him in the chin with an uppercut. Her claws then sank into his upper arms and he howled in pain before retaliating with a kick to the gut and then a kick in the crotch. She screamed and cupped her hand over her abused privates and fell to the ground.

"You bitch!" She hissed.

"Oh, cheer up, that's the most action it'll ever see."

Getting back to her feet she tackled Spike around the middle and the two moved so fast that Sam really couldn't keep up that well.

"Dude…" He muttered in awe and then froze when he heard something small land behind him.

"Witwicky!"

He knew that creepy little voice anywhere! He whirled around and tried to scramble away. "Oh shit!"

"What is that?!" Joyce screamed, backing away.

The little vermin gave chase, darting past Joyce and moving going after same who broke into a run. "DON'T MOVE!" He screamed to Joyce who just watched the whole thing in terrified confusion.

S.S.S.S

"God… no wonder you couldn't wait for us to come down here…"

Dawn had agreed and let Mikaela come into the bathroom. The older girl was leaning against the wall with her arms folded, one knee bent and an aggravated look on her face. There was a knock at the door and Dawn flinched, looking up nervously while Mikaela just rolled her eyes but refused to answer.

"Xander leave them alone. Maybe they're having sex." Anya's voice mused. "I usually enjoy sex when everyone angers me."

A small smile threatened to crack Mikaela's annoyed expression. "I think I like Anya a lot more than the rest of them."

Dawn gave a weak chuckle. "I used to hate her… but I think I'm starting to warm up to her more... especially since she didn't jump down my throat." She stopped and gave the older girl a questioning look. "How come you're not pissed at me too?"

Mikaela sighed and sat down next to her. "Well, I really don't have room to be pissed. You told me you knew witches and I didn't believe you. I said I had to see it to believe it… and… well." She gave a small shrug.

"I mean… about the snake thing. Why aren't you mad about the snake thing?"

Mikaela was silent for a while before talking. "I'm not going to lie… I'm a little mad but I'm not going to be all in your face about it. Besides, that's the past… And you have bigger things to worry about than what I think about something's that past already…"

Dawn let out a shaky breath. "Some demon skank took my mother and they didn't even tell me… they just let me think everything was okay… And I can't even go… " She looked helplessly at Mikaela. "I can't believe he was so mean to me… I mean, when I first met him he was grouchy and cranky but not that mean…"

Mikaela slid a comforting arm around Dawn. She was worried about Sam but she knew Bumblebee could hand Barricade's ass to him any day of the week. Besides, Dawn had much more to worry about. Her sick mother was apparently near Decepticons and was kidnapped by some bitch that, from what she gathered, wasn't human. And on top of that, Ironhide was being a total bitch to her.

"He was a huge ass." Mikaela agreed.

"He's mad because I didn't tell him…" She paused to sniffle. "And I think Optimus is mad at me too."

"Optimus is probably mad… but if you gave him a good explanation… I think he'll forgive you. He probably knows you have a good reason for not saying anything…" Mikaela paused for a moment. "Is it because of your sister?"

Dawn gave a small nod. "That obvious?"

"Well, considering how everyone snaps to at whatever she says…"

"Hey!" Dawn whipped her head to her, insulted. "I don't snap to!"

"Nah… you actually look like the only one with a spine."

Dawn smiled a bit and rested her head against the older girl's shoulder. "Anya has a spine… y'know, I used to think she was just weird but… no I wish I could just say what I wanted and not worry about what other people think…" She was quiet for a moment, looking pensive and then she spoke again. "I think it's a karma thing…"

"I'm not following." Mikaela said.

"I knew something was wrong with mom but I didn't tell anyone… now she's in trouble and nobody told me…"

Mikaela shook her head. "From what I could tell they would've done that to you even if you didn't have a clue about the bots or any of this other crap…"

A small half-smile tilted the corner of Dawn's lips. "Yeah… probably… No… definitely."

"How do you deal with it…?" Mikaela asked and Dawn just rested her head back on the older girl's shoulder.

"Not much choice…"

S.S.S.

"I can't believe him! The jerk!"

Muttering angrily to herself, Harmony stalked through the streets of Sunnydale. She was determined to kill something tonight otherwise she'd never calm down. That and she was so upset about the whole ordeal that she needed a nice blood-binge to cool her down. Preferably virgin, but whatever was good… as long as it wasn't old guy blood. Ew!

"I mean, there I was… all hot, getting ready to have the biggest O in the world when he gets up the minute he gets his… And for what!? Some weird smell? He could've at least let me got off first!"

Honestly, she never knew why she put up with him. He was mean, rude, he didn't respect her and he threatened to kill her more than once when she would have given him anything. And on top of that, he was obviously jonesing for the Slayer.

"I mean really? Having me wear her sweaters and shit? Double ew!"

She stopped when a scent tickled her nose and sound caught her attention.

"Ohh… heartbeat…" She giggled excitedly at the next smell that tickled her nose. "Mmm…and fear…"

She breathed in the savory scent of frightened human the way she would've her grandma's turkey dressing if she were still alive. Her lips lifted into a predatory smile. Maybe this night wasn't going to be so bad after all.

S.S.S

Damn! Pavement hurt like a bitch!

Shelly growled and pulled herself to her feet and charged at Spike. The two traded blows for a while before Shelly got under his guard and tackled him around the middle. She began wailing on him left and right, smirking as blood squirted from his nose and onto her shirt.

"Look at that!" Another punch to the face. "All that piggy blood spouting everywhere!" She grabbed hold of his throat and dug her claws into the flesh, grinning as he cried out.

"Bloody harlot!" He growled at her and tried to throw her off but she was easily countered, shoving him back to the ground.

Her mouth opened and her tongue extended whipped around to the side, wrapping around a metal pipe which she transferred to her hand. She raised it over her head, preparing to strike when a sound caught her ears.

"Hey! Watch the hair!"

She whipped her head to the direction of the voice and a gasp caught her throat when she saw the two figures on the roof. One of them was… it… couldn't be! It was! It was she! Glory!

"Oh… my Goddess…"

She stared at her in awe for a moment until she noticed the pipe was no longer in her hands. She whirled around to face spike only to see a faint blur of pipe coming at her.

Dropping the pipe he'd snatched from her slack fingers, Spike brought a hand to his mouth to lick off the blue blood and then grimaced. That shit was disgusting! Pushing the demon girl off of him he stood up and sighed, not worried about her getting up. He'd heard the sound of skull cracking when he swung. She wasn't getting up anytime soon.

His nose picked up on a scent… The scent of someone who got on his nerves… and occasionally on other parts of his anatomy much to his delight.

"Oh bugger…" He sighed and stalked off in the direction of the scent.

S.S.S

"Shit! Shit! Shit!!"

Sam ran as fast as he could, but Frenzy was still on his tail. How the Hell was that thing even alive?! Maggie told him that it was dead, decapitated by its own CD-throwing star thingy and then dumped in the ocean with Megatron and the rest of the dead aliens. How was he up and running!?

"Witwicky! Witwicky!"

Sam ignored the little mech's calls and kept running, darting through trees. He wished he could call Bumblebee for help but the yellow scout was still tied up with Barricade and Buffy was facing off against that bitch who tried to kill her mom.

He darted around a fence and his eyes widened when he noticed the blonde girl standing in front of him but couldn't stop in time and nearly crashed into her, but she quickly stepped out of the way and he fell flat on his ass.

"Ooh, ouch. You okay?"

Sam groaned in pain and looked up at the chesty blonde who looked at him as if he were the biggest idiot on the planet and pulled himself up to his feet.

"Look, you gotta get out of here! There's a little monster chasing me-" He stopped when unlike Mikaela, this girl just shrugged.

"It's Sunnydale, Captain Dorko. There's always something that's going to want to eat you…" Her expression turned from bitchy schoolgirl to confidant predator. "And I-"

"WITWICKY!"

"WHOA!"

**THUD!**

"Hey!"

Harmony jumped back when something silver suddenly shot out of the bushes and tackled her dinner. Her brow scrunched. It was that same little pervert that felt her up last week. What was it still doing here? And why was it attacking her snack!?

"HEY!"

She reached forward and snatched the little robot by the back of its neck and yanked it off of the boy. The metal gremlin screamed and made noises which she guessed was robot bitching and she just tossed him aside.

"S-slag it, vampire!" It hissed at her.

She roared at it and it scampered back a bit. "Back off! I'm going to eat that!"

Sam pulled himself off the ground and turned to the girl he thought was his savior in frightened confusion. "What?!"

Her head whipped toward him with a tiger-like roar and he gasped at the sight of her face. "W-what the Hell?! Y-you're a vampire…"

Harmony rolled her gold eyes. "Give America's Next Top Nerd a prize…"

"B-but… Spike… I head he didn't hurt people…" The boy stammered and she scoffed.

"That's because he can't… he's wired up and stuff." She began to stalk towards him. "Hey, it's nothing personal…" She shrugged and even with that monstrous visage managed to look like a snotty bitch. "I mean, I usually don't eat geek but I'm hungry, and pissed."

Sam slowly backed away and broke into a run but the blonde caught him by the back of the neck and flung him to the ground with incredible strength.

"SIT STILL!" She whined as she came closer to him.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Sam cried out as he got to his feet again only to be tackled by Frenzy who he had completely forgotten about.

"Dude!" Harmony growled. "That's mine!"

Frenzy looked up at the blonde vampire and hissed. He was actually rather curious about how vampires fueled up. He knew that, according to myth, they drink the blood of live humans to sustain themselves and it was usually through the neck. He wanted to witness this process, especially since some of the information he'd gathered on the web told him that it was extremely painful to the victim. Besides, if any squishy deserved a painful death (well, they all did) but the one who deserved one the most was Witwicky.

"VAMPIRE, EAT IT ALREADY, SLAG IT!" The little Decepticon hissed, slamming Sam's head back into the pavement, clocking him with a metal fist for good measure.

The vampire's amber eyes widened before she broke into a fangy grin. "Oh, you're the best!" She eagerly trotted over to the dazed boy and yanked him up by the back of the neck.

The fear wafting off of him was intoxicating. She breathed it in before roughly yanking his head back. She opened her mouth wide, exposing glistening fangs. The boy struggled but she her grip was so strong that escape was impossible.

Sam squeezed his eyes shut but still continued to struggle. He could feel her cold breath on his neck. He couldn't believe it. Vampires existed, and even worse he was going to be killed by one.

_I'm going to die…_

"Hold it, Harm."

Relief went through Sam at the sound of the English voice a few feet away. His eyes cracked open and he saw Spike standing a little ways away, looking a little worse for wear but okay none the less. The female demon must've gotten her ass handed to her something awful.

The female vampire moved away from his neck and let out a purely feminine growl of irritation. "Spike, get lost! I'm eating here!"

Spike just looked bored. "Yeah, but think about it. That kid is the Slayer's little sis's chum. You really want to live in that world?"

The blonde's head snapped back to Sam and she gave him a long, hard sniff along his neck, making him cringe.

"Oh, shut up! Like you'd ever have a chick as hot as me nuzzling you for any other reason." She sniffed him again and growled in annoyance, letting her face change back to its human appearance. "Damn it, he has Slayer sister smell on him!" She made an irritated face and threw him into the fence. "God, I can't eat anyone in this town!" And with that she turned and stalked away.

Frenzy cycled a sigh. Well, guess he wasn't going to see how vamps fueled up after all. His attention then went to the male dead squishy with the radioactive hair and apparently it noticed him too.

"YOU!"

"Oh, shit!" Frenzy quickly scampered off. Time to go!

Spike growled as the small bot took off. His face changed and he let out a snarl, scaring the crap out of Sam who had just got off the ground.

"STOP DOING THAT!!"

Spike paid no attention to the frightened boy and took off after Frenzy. "C'mere ya little shit!"

Sam took a few moments to catch his breath. He had to head back, get Mrs. Summers and then the rest of the Autobots and find out why-

A twig snapping caught his attention and he turned around to see four figures in the shadows. They stepped out to reveal two boys and two girls, all around his age except for one thing.

Their faces all held the demonic visage of the vampire.

S.S.S

Glory cried out as she hit the pavement hard, not in pain but annoyance. That skank tossed her off the roof! How rude and demeaning! She was so busy fuming inside that she wasn't prepared to retaliate when the Slayer leapt off the roof and on top of her, waling on her left and right.

Okay, enough was enough!

Glory caught the other girl by the neck and threw her off into a building. She pulled herself up and brushed the dirt off of her outfit. "You are really beginning to piss me off!" She growled, pointing at her for emphasis. She grabbed the dazed blonde by the fair and slammed flung her forward to the ground but caught her in the face with her knee before she actually hit the pavement, sending her flying backwards a few yards.

Buffy cried out upon impact and struggled to get up. She could hear the sound of Glory's heels clicking toward her. She managed to pull herself up and duck when Glory's fist swung at her. She back flipped out of the way, snatching up her fallen battle axe and prepared to swing it when the sound of metallic crashing caught both of their attention. Both blondes looked up to see the yellow and black robot locked in combat with the black and white cop car thing that had tried to kill her before. The black and white one smacked the yellow across the face with those wicked spinning blades.

"Ooh! I so have to get me some of those!" Glory giggled in delight.

The squad car grabbed the Camaro by the head and delivered a devastating body slam. The yellow one quickly got to its feet and caught the black one by one of the horns and lifted it like it weighed nothing. Buffy's eyes widened in fright, it was going to slam it over here! Thinking quickly, she kicked a preoccupied Glory as hard as she could, sending her crashing through the window and into the building while she took off, right when the yellow one slammed the other one into said building, bringing it down all around the bitch queen, hopefully killing her.

"Buffy!"

The blonde looked up at the sound of her mother's voice and overwhelming relief spread across her face when she saw the older woman, crouching behind a few barrels.

"MOM!"

She broke into a run, slightly limping from the damage she'd suffered but didn't care. She caught her mother in a strong hug. "Mom, thank God you're okay!" Tears ran from her eyes.

Joyce hugged her eldest child back and then pulled away from her. "Don't worry about me. Go help Sam… This little robot bug chased after him and-"

"I'm on it!" Buffy then broke into a run.

s.s.s

"So… who wants the first slice?"

Sam was now being held by his neck by a blonde female vampire. He couldn't believe what was happening! They were talking about murdering him so casually, like they were asking who was getting the first slice of pizza.

"You even try it and you'll be in so much shit…" Sam spoke; trying to sound brave but the wavering in his voice gave him away.

"Really?" The other female, a girl with curly red hair, smirked.

"And how's that exactly?" One of the boys, a brunette.

"You hear that crashing?" Sam swallowed the lump of fear in his throat. "That's my best friend and if you even touch me, he'll kick you asses."

At that the vampires all broke into laughter. "Man, if that wasn't second grade, I don't know what is!" A blonde male cried through the giggles.

"Next you'll be telling us you know the Slayer…" The redheaded female snickered before calming down and shrugging. "Well, if no one wants the first bite…" She leaned forward, mouth wide open.

There was a whizzing sound and her head fell from her shoulders right before her body exploded in a cloud of dust.

They vampires gasped and whirled to see the Slayer standing there with a battle axe. "Well, it wouldn't be a lie if he did." She said and then swung again, taking off the head of the blonde male.

The other two rushed her, dropping Sam in the process. They swarmed around her like flies but she fought them off easily enough. Considering what she'd just been through, these guys were pudding.

Sam just watched from the ground in horrified amazement as Buffy beat off the bloody thirsty monsters as if they were nothing but overgrown mosquitoes. The girl swiped at her and she easily flipped out of the way, driving the wooden handle of the axe into her heart. The vampire screamed before exploding into a cloud of dust, its skeleton visible for a moment before it too poofed into nothingness.

The only one left, the brunette male came at her head one and she simply pirouetted, swinging the axe and taking off his head in one clean swoop. It landed right next to him before poofing to dust at his feet.

He gasped and scrambled back from the dust pile right when a small hand was offered to him. He looked up at Buffy who had a number of cuts but was otherwise okay, as far as he could tell. He took her hand and she pulled him up easily as if he weighed nothing.

"You okay?" She asked, breathing a bit heavily.

The boy nodded slowly. "Yeah… What…"

"Vampires…" She answered, too out of it to think of something to soothe the boy.

"Yeah… I know…" He said, surprising her. It must've shown on her face. "I've met Spike already… and this bitchy blonde girl who I guess is his girlfriend… She wanted to eat me but he wouldn't let her…" He had that out of touch look most people get when they're dealing with something way out of their element.

"Harmony…" Buffy sighed. "As if one bitchy blonde ho-bag wasn't enough…" She stopped and then turned to him with a serious look. "You're car is one of those…"

­Sam quickly held his hands up in defense. "He's a good guy, okay? Don't worry. He doesn't hurt people and Dawn and your mom really likes him."

At that Buffy's eyes widened. "Dawn knew about this…? How long?" Her voice was low and it was easy to tell she was pissed off.

_Uh-oh_

Sam cleared his throat. "Since last week."

Buffy looked stunned for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm gonna kill her." The sound of more crashing and robotic yells filled the air. She then grabbed his arm. "But right now, we gotta get out of here."

s.s.s


	22. Time For The Verbal Fight Scene

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It belongs to Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon. I also do not own Transformers the movie. The movie belongs to DreamWorks and Michael Bay while Transformers belongs to Hasbro. I only own Shelly and Rina and any other original characters that I come up with. I am not making any money off of this, so no suing.

s.s.s.s

A hand gripped the back of his neck and whirled him to the ground. The enforcer cried out in pain as his head hit the pavement. He opened his optics and saw Bumblebee curling his fingers inward in a "bring it" motion.

Barricade bolted to his feet and prepared to charge at the insect when his scanners picked up something. Slag it! The other Autoscum were on their way!

With a hard swing of his blades he sent Bumblebee flying several meters before quickly transforming. He scanned for Frenzy and found him shooting at a blonde male squishy, dead if his scanners were correct. Oh wait… that was one of those vampire things. He gunned his engine at top speed, ramming head on into the vampire and sending him flying. He skidded to a stop and popped open the door.

"Where's the lizard!?"

Frenzy looked around for a moment before darting behind a building and then ran back around, dragging the unconscious demon by her hair and tossing her unceremoniously into the backseat. Her skull was crushed and a piece was missing. He darted off again and then came back with a small piece of bone, dripping with blue lubricant.

"Ew! Ew! Ew!" Frenzy was squealing in disgust at the demonic cranial covering in his servos. "NASTY!" He tossed it in the backseat with its owner.

"Is it dead?" Barricade asked as they rounded a corner.

Frenzy peeked at the back and shot a small laser, burning her in the foot. She quickly jolted awake with an inhuman shriek.

"Dude, what the fuck!?"

"It's alive." Frenzy confirmed.

Shelly jolted into a sitting position and glared at the little mech through the screen. "You little shit…" She groaned and looked around, rubbing the huge gash on her head that was leaking blue blood. "What happened?" She rubbed a little further and gasped when her fingers dipped into her own cranial cavity. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"The other Autoslag were on their way. We had to escape. Your helm was crushed." Barricade's voice came through the speakers. "AND WHAT THE SLAG ARE YOU LEAKING ON ME?!"

Shelly just slumped back in her seat, ignoring the enraged curses from the mech. She gritted her teeth in at the hole in her head and gripped the backseat, blinking when she found the piece of her skull. Thank Glory! Now it would only take her a day to heal instead of the irritating task of growing new skull. That would take a week or more and she didn't have that kind of time. Good thing she was still projecting enough psychic interference to keep them from being detected, though it was dwindling. She whimpered and placed the cracked piece of skull onto her head, like one would with a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. That was one of the reasons she didn't want to get into a fight. She could project while unconscious but not if she was hurt too badly, which admittedly was pretty hard to do but still! They had to go and duke it out. Did they have testosterone in their oil or something? They acted a lot like stupid human and/or demon guys to her.

With a tired sigh she ripped a piece of fabric from her shirt to make a bandage until her wound healed itself within the next few minutes if anything to shut him up about leaking lubricants and lizard germs.

S.S.S

Bumblebee was pulling himself off of the ground when Sam and Buffy ran to him. He shook his head to clear the static and then peered down at the two humans. The small blonde female was looking up at him with a wary expression. Taking his processor off of her for a moment he focused his scanners, looking for Barricade or Frenzy but couldn't find either one of them. He blinked his optics in confusion before turning back to the small blonde female.

"Watch out, he's a flirt." Sam muttered to Buffy who turned a confused look on him. He grinned at her. "Oh yeah, he hits on Dawn every chance he gets."

Buffy tucked that odd info away as she looked around for her mother.

"Mom!" She called.

Joyce came from behind the barrels and went to the group. Buffy rushed over and wrapped her in a hug. "I'm so sorry, Mom."

Joyce hugged her back. "Don't worry about it." She pulled away and looked over at the big yellow robot a little ways behind them. "That big sweetie over there saved me."

Bee sat back on his heels and gave Buffy a small wave. The blonde looked up at him warily but took a few steps forward. She glanced back at her mother who didn't seem the least bit afraid, just curious. She turned back to the giant robot.

"What's your name?" She asked after a while.

"He's name's Bumblebee… he's voice's a little messed up so he can't talk right now." Sam explained.

Buffy moved back a little to get a good look at him. He didn't seem like a dangerous psycho like the other one. He actually was rather…cute. And he did save her mother and if he was here to kill her he could easily do it.

She sighed and gave him a nod. "I'm Buffy."

Bumblebee crouched down lower and held out his hand. She hesitated for a moment and warily stuck her hand out. He took her hand between two fingers, and like Dawn, he brought it to his face where she figured his mouth should've been, mimicking a kiss.

Buffy smiled before she could stop herself. "Erm, nice meeting you too."

The sound of incoming vehicles caught everyone's attention and Buffy was instantly on her guard but Sam put a hand on her shoulder when he noticed the Peterbilt, yellow H2 Hummer and the Topkick.

"It's just the other ones… They're good guys I promise."

Buffy looked at him for a moment, deciding to trust him. After all, his car did beat the crap out of the thing that tried to kill her.

The trio of vehicles drove towards her, the red and blue truck in the lead. They slowed down and then stopped in front of her. The truck's headlights moved upward and the grill popped forward. Buffy's eyes widened as the truck's parts moved, clicking in various different places. She heard the sound of hydraulics hissing as it grew in size and took on a humanoid shape. She heard the other two doing the same thing behind her and whirled around to see, mouth falling open at the sight of the other two. She glanced at her mom who looked astonished as well but not afraid. She turned back to the… truck… thing to find it was now a thirty foot tall robot, dwarfing Bumblebee by comparison. He didn't pay her any attention at first and instead turned to Bumblebee.

"Barricade?" He, she guessed it was a 'he', asked in a deep, commanding voice.

Wait a minute, wasn't his name Bumblebee?

Bumblebee shook his head and his radio clicked on. _'He flew the coop'_

"Slag it!" The giant black one behind her growled.

The red and blue one let out what she guessed was an annoyed sigh before turning to her. He slowly got down to his knees, moving toward her and she quickly backed up.

"Buffy Anne Summers, Dawn Summers older sister, correct?" He asked and she tensed.

"Yeah…" She faltered a bit.

"My name is Optimus Prime." He glanced over at Joyce. "And you are Joyce Isabelle Summers?"

Joyce nodded and moved to stand near her daughter. "Nice to meet…" She then stopped. "Wait, Dawn knows you?"

At the mention of Dawn, Ironhide barely concealed a grunt causing Optimus to narrow his optics at him.

"Ironhide, not now." He warned.

"What?" Buffy asked suspiciously at the way he acted at the mention of her sister.

"He's rather annoyed with Dawn right now and I'm certain she's feeling the same way about him." The yellow one put in. "He is a rather big pain in the aft."

"Ratchet! Can it, rust bucket!" Ironhide growled.

Ratchet said nothing but then turned his optics to Buffy. She looked up at him curiously. She was certain that he wasn't going to hurt her. But when he drew up and his optics narrowed at her, she stiffened.

"What?"

"You have a heightened energy level, far too heightened for even a young female human."

Buffy blinked at the tone of his voice. Why did it remind her of Giles when he found out she was doing something that she had no business doing?

The yellow robot raised his hand and a strange light came out, running up and down her body. She shrieked and scrambled backward. "What the Hell!?"

"Well, there are no traces of amphetamines, steroids or other foreign substances"

Buffy's eyes widened. He checked her drugs!? "I'm not a druggie!" She moved away and crossed her arms over her breasts, feeling more than a little violated. "The Hell…?"

"Ratchet, you don't scan the humans without their permission." Optimus told the smaller bot.

"Oh… bloody Hell…"

Everyone turned around and Buffy rolled her eyes as Spike came forward. He looked pretty beat up. Something must've done a number on him but she was pretty sure Glory hadn't got to him.

The yellow one made a strange noise. "This human is in dire need of medical attention!" A strange light came from his hand and moved along Spike's body.

"HEY!!" The blonde male cried out indignantly, looking more than a little violated. Ratchet ignored him.

"His circulatory and respiratory systems are shut down and his body temperate is thirty-eight degrees below normal! By all accounts he should be dead!"

"I _AM _DEAD, YOU GIANT PONCE!" Spike yelled at the giant robot, self preservation instincts squished by annoyance.

Ratchet drew back in surprise and then looked to the humans for conformation.

"That's Spike. He's a vampire." Buffy said calmly. "And a pain in the ass."

Spike just flipped her off before turning to Ratchet. "So, yeah… I'm all nice and dead like I'm supposed to be. So put that finger somewhere else."

"A vampire…" Ratchet's optics dimmed as he conducted a search. Once he was done his facial plating shifted into a look of fascinated confusion. "Reanimated corpse?"He bent down closer to Spike who backed up.

"Hey… back it up…" Spike stammered nervously.

The giant yellow robot tilted his head to the side and reached out a finger towards him, and Spike had enough. His face changed and he growled, snapping his fangs at the robot's finger. Ratchet let out a startled trill and jerked his finger away like a child who'd been bitten by a mouse.

"What's wrong with its face!?" Ratchet demanded before throwing a glare at Bumblebee who pointed and snickered at him.

Buffy glanced around at the giant robots while all of this was happening. They seemed friendly, goofy and rather nice. Also she had to admit Bumblebee was rather cute. And they haven't hurt anyone… as far as she knew.

Wait… that giant black one was the Topkick Mikaela drove… the one that took her mother to the hospital. So in fact it had been that one who saved her mother.

A small whimper from Joyce caught her attention and she gasped when she saw her swaying slightly, holding her head.

"Mom!" She wrapped an arm around her shoulder to steady her. "We've gotta get you back to the hospital."

Optimus looked away from the agitated vampire and nodded at Buffy. "Of course." He turned to Bumblebee. "Take her to the hospital."

At that Bumblebee quickly transformed back into a Camaro and popped his doors open for them. Buffy hesitated for a moment and then slid in the backseat with her mother. Sam got in the driver's seat and she could hear the sound of the others transforming behind her.

She looked ahead and rolled her eyes when Spike slid into the passenger seat. _Just great._

They all left the area and headed toward the hospital, just as the rubble from the demolished building began to move and a small dainty hand punched its way through.

S.S.S.S

After bringing Joyce back to the hospital and answering a load of questions, Buffy was now headed up the walk way to her house with Sam behind her. Her patience was about at an end today. They had rode home in the yellow and black one because out of all of them, he was the one she trusted the most mainly since he did save her mother. The other two, Ratchet and… Octopus Whatchamacalit… they seemed nice enough even if Ratchet was a little too obsessed with Spike… and then he scanned her for steroids and amphetamines! What the Hell!?

Ironhide seemed a little grouchy, but much in the way that most tough guys were. She'd been around Riley and his friends long enough to know Macho complex when she saw it.

"So… Buffy…"

Buffy glanced at Sam as they pulled into the front of her house and exited Bumblebee. "What?" She asked and he began to ramble.

"Look, I know you're probably pissed at me and everything and-"

"You and Mikaela can still stay here. I'm letting you out on the Hellmouth after dark just because you guys and Dawn kept this crap from me."

Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, thanks."

"Uh-huh… but you guys have a Hell of a lot of explaining to do…"

"No problem… So, we headed to Kingman's Bluff then?"

"Why?"

"Because that's where we all hang out when we're up here. Us, the bots and Dawn…"

Buffy's hand tightened around her keys at the reminder that her sister had kept this from her. "Not tonight… I'm tired, bloody, and in major need of something with alcohol… plus, I don't feel like having to kill anything else tonight."

"Oh…" Sam nodded. After what he saw it seemed like a good explanation. "So… do you do that often?"

Buffy sighed in annoyance. "Look, I'll answer all of your questions tomorrow, okay?"

The boy held his hands up in an 'okay okay' gesture. "Okie doke."

The blonde headed up the walk way, not really noticing the way Sam watched her as she walked away.

S.S.S.S

"Buffy! You're back!" Willow gasped.

"Ohmigod, you won't believe-" Anya began.

"Dawn's seriously off her gourd and-" Xander started

"Hey, that's not really fair…" Tara tried to speak up but stopped when she realized no one was listening to her.

"Guys, I know about what happened. I know about the alien robots… One saved Mom… Now…" She sighed. "Where's Dawn? I have to kill her."

They all, except for Tara, pointed up the stairs. "Bathroom." They said in unison.

s.s.s

In the bathroom, Dawn sighed as she heard her sister's voice from down stairs. Well, time to face the music… and blast back with some of her own. She turned to Mikaela and sighed. "Well, here it comes… The Buffy Train…"

"Want me to back you up?"

"Nah… I can handle this." She gave the taller girl a hug and opened the door to find Buffy standing there, bruised and a little bloody but intimidating none the less.

"We're going to have a talk. Now." The Slayer said in a steely tone.

"Fine." Dawn agreed in hard tone of her own.

Mikaela quietly slipped past and casted Dawn a worried look and encouraging smile before heading down the stairs.

Dawn turned back to her sister and arched her brows. "So, you wanna talk? Fine." She went into her room and Buffy followed her. The younger girl sat down on the bed and leaned back, stretching her legs out in front of her. It was always nice to throw a little insulting body language into a fight. Buffy shut the door and took a few steps toward her.

"You have a lot of nerve."

Dawn's eyes narrowed and her fists clenched the floral comforter.

Oh yeah, it was on.

s.s.s

Mikaela sighed and glanced up at the stairs uneasily. She was a little worried about Dawn. She really liked her and hoped that Buffy wouldn't be too big of a bitch towards her. She turned back to Sam who had relayed everything that had happened. He went on a small rant about Spike, who it turned out was a vampire. She had paled at that but calmed down when he said he couldn't harm humans… and then cracked up when she heard he tried to bite Ratchet's finger but was still nervous about being around a vampire.

Sam wasn't so much afraid of Spike since Buffy told him that he couldn't harm humans because of some computer chip thing… He was more worried about the vampire chick that nearly tried to eat him. He had confronted Spike about that when they pulled up to the cemetery.

"_Okay, we're here." Buffy said. "Go away now."_

_Spike scoffed and flicked the blonde off and moved to get out of the Autobot._

"_Hey… thanks for saving me back there." Sam had said and Spike gave him a disgusted look._

"_Please… I didn't do it because I cared." He pulled out a cigarette and got out of the Autobot. "Last thing I needed was Buffy yammerin' at me because I let her kid sis's chum get eaten… Trust me, if you'd been some random nerd I'd have kept moving."_

_Sam blinked and then shook his head in disbelief. "Gee, I feel special."_

"_I'm sure you do… Don't they have small buses for the special ones like you?" And with that the vampire made his way through the cemetery._

"_AND YOU'RE WELCOME FOR THE RIDE!" He'd yelled._

"_Piss off, you wanker." _

He relayed that story back to Mikaela along with what had happened at the warehouse. She didn't seem too shocked to find out that vampires existed but was more worried about them attacking her. He'd found out that Dawn told her a great deal about all of the weird shit in Sunnydale that her sister dealt with.

He was now telling her about how Buffy had saved him… for the third time.

"Oh, my God! It was so intense! She just kicked the crap out of them like it was nothing. It was like nothing could touch her!" He leaned back in the chair and sighed, shaking his head admiringly. "It was awesome…"

Mikaela's eye twitched for a moment when she felt a sting of jealousy. "You told me… three times." She muttered quietly.

Sam didn't really hear her and opened her mouth to say something when the sound of angry sister's screaming went through the air.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us about this! How could you be so stupid!?

"Stupid? STUPID?!" Dawn's voice rose to a shrill yell. "Don't you _DARE _call me stupid! I didn't tell you because I'd promised… or do you want me to be a backstabbing liar!? Like not telling me some bitch kidnapped Mom?! Or…hmm! Here's a good one! Say, remember how you didn't tell anyone Angel was alive even after he tried to kill everyone?"

Willow and Xander who were sitting in the living room both winced.

"Uh-oh…" The witch muttered.

The Scoobies exchanged glances before running up the stairs to eavesdrop. Sam and Mikaela glanced at each other as well.

"I think… I'll go hang out with Bee…" Sam muttered, after the night he had the sound of shrill angry girls was a little too much.

Mikaela watched him leave and looked conflicted for a moment before running upstairs to join the Scoobies in their eavesdropping.

It was silent for a while before words were spoken.

"That was below the belt, Dawn…"

Inside the room, Buffy was staring at Dawn with an angry and hurt expression on her face. Dawn's faces shifted into a guilty expression for a moment before hardening again.

"So's you calling me stupid." She said in a low voice. "And hello pot, the kettle is calling. What about all the lies you've told? All the things you've kept from Mom?" She scoffed. "As if a hypocrite like you has any room to talk."

Buffy drew back in outrage. "Hypocrite!?"

"Did I stutter?" Dawn shot back. "So, I hid a few alien robots from you? BIG DEAL! They're not going to hurt anyone. They help people! And if you're pissed about me not telling you because one tried to kill you, well, whose fault is that for not telling me about it in the first place?! I didn't even know a Decepti-thing was here! But, the ones outside aren't our problem."

Buffy let out a frustrated growl. "But how do you even-"

Dawn let out a disgusted scoff. "God, when did you become such a judgey cow!? Geez, you're turning into Riley! You're just like he was when Willow saw Oz again! Yeah, I heard you ranting to yourself about that for a while. Saying how he was a bigot, didn't trust anything that wasn't human and blah blah… Did the boning turn you into one as well? Is bigotry the new herpes? You got it just by boning one?!"

The blonde reared back in shock. "You're way out of line! Who do you think you are talking to me like that!?"

"What? It's not like you're Mom!"

"I'm your sister! It's my job to protect you! How am I supposed to if you don't tell me these things?!"

"And this is why I didn't tell you. You act like you have to screen everything that comes into my life… and… I finally have something in my life that's cool, friends that like me for me and not because you 

have your hand up their butts like everyone else around here! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO _PISS ALL OVER IT!?"_

And with that she pushed past Buffy and swung the door open, knocking all of the eavesdroppers in the face with the door in the process. She hardly cared. She stormed out of the house and into the backyard, flopping down into a lawn chair, tears of anger stinging her eyes.

s.s.s

"Yeow…"

Sam was currently inside of Bumblebee who was parked in the driveway behind Ironhide. Sam could barely make out the words being spoken, only a lot of shrill screaming, mainly on Dawn's part. Then he heard the slamming of a door along with several yelps of pain.

"So… you think it's safe to go back in?" Sam asked Bee.

'_But it's over now. It's over now."_

Sam sighed in relief. "Thank God… I've had enough of angry girls for one day… Dead girls at that…" He shivered with uneasiness. "I can't believe I nearly got killed by vampires… Vampires, man!"

"She should've told us about this."

Sam froze at the cold tone of Ironhide's voice as it came through the speakers. Boy, did he sound pissed!

"Uh… dude…" Sam began but jumped at the sound of the side door slamming along with an enraged feminine growl. Apparently one of the sisters was outside cooling down but he couldn't see which one.

"Which one is it?" Sam asked. "I can't see."

"Dawn…" Ironhide growled and pulled a little further up.

"Oh man…" Sam sighed.

'_Don't do anything stupid!' _Bee begged but Ironhide had all ready began to transform.

"Too late…" Sam sighed h glanced at the wheel. "Are you mad at her too?"

Bee's actual voice sounded straigned and injured. "I was for a moment but she did tell us when we first came here but she was afraid we wouldn't believe her or thought she needed a few cranial bolts tightened." Sam snickered at that. "So, no I'm not mad at her... but I'm afraid Ironhide is going to seriously slag her off."

"That's a given..." Sam muttered and exited Bee. He was getting a little sleepy and he _really_ didn't need to be there for this fight.

s.s.s

Outside Dawn was still seething in the chair; her tears had stopped and left streaks behind on her face. She was contemplating all of the ways she might be able to choke Buffy with her hair when the sound of a transformation sequence filled the air and Dawn sighed. _Please let it be Ratchet… he's probably the only one I can deal with right now…_

"Dawn."

The young girl looked up from perch in the lawn chair at Ironhide and grimaced at the bits of anger she felt coming from him but had a feeling it was much worse than that actually. She just new a storm was coming so to speak.

"What?"

He bent down so he was level with her and to keep the neighbors from seeing him. "How could you not tell us about this?" The anger was coming off of him in waves. "As our human contact you're supposed to let us know of possible dangers on this planet. How could you not tell us about…reanimated dead humans… and… whatever the Pit else?!"

Dawn was shaking with rage. She already had this same conversation with Buffy, she wasn't having it again. She bolted up from her chair. "I _did _tell you! I told you that I knew witches and that magic existed and you blew me off so it's not my fault if you didn't believe me!"

"Like you couldn't have easily shown us… and a mutated snake?! How could you not tell us that's what really attacked you?"

Man, was he stubborn! Dawn nearly wanted to laugh. He wanted to play hard ass? He picked the wrong girl for tonight.

"Like it would've done any good. You were four hours away." She paced across the grass for a moment. "And… It turned out fine. It was handled. God!" She plopped down in one of the chairs and resisted the urge to shrink back when she saw the look he was giving her.

"You still should've told us… and about what the slag goes on here. We're supposed to protect your species now."

"I promised my sister that I wouldn't tell people about this crap."

He made an indignant noise that made her arch her brows in anger. "Oh! I get it! When I'm keeping secrets, lying to my friends and family to keep a promise to you, I'm all honorable and stuff, but the second I do it for someone else then I'm a two-faced liar?! If that's the way it's gonna be then screw you! I've had enough of hypocrite jackasses for one night!" And with that she turned and headed back to the side door and slammed it.

She didn't even make it into the kitchen when she heard him grunt and mumble. "Slagging bag of energy… connecting me to a fragging stupid youngling nuisance…" 

Her fists clenched and she bit her lip to keep them from trembling as she stormed back into the house.

s.s.s

"I can't… believe her!"

Buffy paced about her own room while Willow sat tensely on the bed. The rest of the Scoobies were downstairs in the kitchen so only Willow was there to calm down the enraged blonde.

"Buffy…"

"I mean… How could she keep this from us?!"

Willow sighed. "Okay, yeah… I admit… I was pretty P.Oed at the kid at first but… they seem really nice. And one did save your mom."

Buffy stopped pacing and shook her head. "Yeah… I know… and it's not that. I mean, I can tell they're the good guys and with that freaky cop car thing running around, I need all of the help I can get… but…"

Willow gave a small smile. "I think you're mad because… Well, she did have a point…"

At that Buffy whirled on the redhead in shock. "You agree with her?!"

"Calm down!" Willow held her hands up in a defensive gesture. "I'm not saying it was okay for her to lie and stuff but… it's… not really like you had any moral high ground to tower over her with."

Buffy was silent for a moment as she thought about everything. Dawn was right. And considering that she didn't tell anyone about Angel, or any of the other things she did in the past she really had no room to talk. It really wasn't like they tried to kill everyone or anything. Well, one did but it was one Dawn didn't know about… And whose fault was that?

She sighed and flopped onto the bed. Damn it, she hated being wrong.

Willow patted her shoulder lightly and then stood. "I'll leave you alone with your head for a while." She left the room and quietly closed the door, leaving Buffy alone with her thoughts.

s.s.s

As Willow exited Buffy's room and headed down the hall, she nearly ran into Dawn who didn't even stop to say anything. Willow sighed and headed downstairs, but not before looking back at the young girl with a guilty expression on her face.

Dawn opened the door and met the concerned gaze of Mikaela. "Hey, you okay?"

Dawn stepped over the broken wood and scattered clothes and sat down on her sleeping bag. "Yeah, I'll be all right…"

"How mad was Ironhide?" Sam asked and she bristled.

"Not talking about that right now..." She muttered as she flopped onto her sleeping bag.

"Okay, I won't say anything else..." Sam was quiet for a while before speaking. "So… your sister..." He didn't hear the annoyed breath Mikeala took and continued. "Exactly what is up with her anyway?" Sam asked. "And how'd she do all of that? I mean, it wasn't even like she was human…"

Dawn let out an irritated breath through her nose. "She's a Slayer… it's a whole mystical thing… She's really strong and really fast. She's chosen to defend the world and… stuff. Some mystic thing gave her special powers to do it. She's all chosen and stuff."

Mikaela didn't miss the envy in the girl's voice but didn't say anything.

"Oh…" Sam rested back on the bed. "That explains it..." He rolled over onto his side so he could see her easier. "So, how was she chosen? And does she do this stuff every day?"

Mikaela had to admit she was a little interested but not as into as Sam was who couldn't seem to shut up about the blonde in the next room. It was _really_ starting to grate on her nerves.

From her spot on the bed she couldn't see the annoyed look on Dawn's face. She had just had a fight with her sister, she really didn't want to go on and on about her!

Dawn sighed and sat up on her sleeping bag. "I'm going to get something to eat." She got up and left the room without another word, closing the door.

Mikaela got up as well, saying she needed to use the bathroom but really needed to get away from Sam. His Buffy praising was a little much. Yes, she did save his life, but good grief. It was bed time now!

She opened the door and stopped when she saw Dawn pulling a green blanket from the linen closet along with a box that said 'air mattress' and headed down the stairs and then the side door opened and closed.

Mikaela left the room and looked out of one of the windows to see Dawn going into the garage, a bag of Oreos in her hand. She glanced back at the room where Sam was waiting for her and then out the window at the girl who's had everyone come at her from all sides. With a sigh she headed downstairs, passing Willow who was currently on the phone.

s.s.s.

After setting up the air mattress and spreading out the sheets, Dawn settled in for a lonely and sad sleep when she heard feet outside the door and she froze.

There was a knocking at the door. "Dawn, its Mikaela."

Dawn got up and quickly opened the door, slightly amused to see the older girl with her duffle bag and armed with the piece of wood that Tara plucked out of Optimus' eye and garlic powder from the kitchen.

"Anita Blake has nothing on you." Dawn snickered as she let the girl in. "You didn't have to keep me company…" 

Mikaela flopped onto the air mattress. "No way was I letting you sleep out here by yourself… And…" She looked down at the ground. "I think I know how you feel now… at least a little."

Dawn gave Mikaela a knowing look. "Sam won't shut up about Buffy, will he?"

"NO!" Mikaela flopped to her back. "Oh, my God! I mean… yeah, ten minutes worth of raving about her I understand. She did save him from demons and crap. But… oh my God did he have to tell me the same bits over and over and over again?!"

Dawn joined her on the mattress and handed her a cookie. "Welcome to my life."

There was another knock and Dawn went to open it and was surprised to find Willow there holding a pizza box in her hands and wearing a hopeful smile.

"Peace offering… I don't bring virgin maidens or land… but I bring extra cheese and mushrooms."

The teenager eyed the witch with a cold stare for a moment, debating on whether or not she should forgive her. After a tense silence she finally spoke. "Cheesy bread?" Dawn asked. "No negotiations without cheesy bread."

Willow brought up her other hand which held a white paper bag. "And éclairs too."

Dawn glanced back at Mikaela. "Should I forgive her?"

Mikaela grinned. "She's bringing garlic and chocolate… I kinda need both right now."

Dawn stepped aside and Willow grinned happily and placed the box on the work table.

"I'm sorry I spazzed out in there…" Willow said guiltily. "It's just… y'know, when I first met you… you were this bug-eyed little fifth grader and… sometimes I guess… I still see you as the bug-eyed kid who worshipped me…"

Dawn sighed. "I'm not a little girl, Willow…" And then she frowned. "And I was not bug-eyed!"

"Yeah, you kinda were…" The witch smiled while Dawn pouted.

"So… how's Buffy doing?" Dawn asked after a moment. "Still mad?"

"I think she's madder that you were right to yell at her… But… I think I know why you didn't want to tell her… "

"Because I promised…" Dawn said through a mouthful of cheese and mushrooms.

"Yeah… there's that…but…"Willow gave her a sisterly elbow to the shoulder. "C'mon, you mean to tell me that you didn't enjoy having something that Buffy didn't know about?"

Dawn looked surprised for a moment. Was she really happy about that? The fact that there was something of that was hers and not all Buffy-whipped like everything else in this town?

She had to admit was kind of nice. The Autobots as well as Sam and Mikaela actually valued her opinion and listened to what she had to say. They never treated her like she was insignificant… they were just really careful not to step on her.

"It was nice…" She said after a while. She quickly turned to Mikaela. "That's not the only reason I was friends with you guys though."

Mikaela waved it off. "I have friends with older brothers and sisters, I understand… kinda…."

Willow sat down on the air mattress. "I… actually know how you feel… It was like that with Tara. I never told anyone she was my girlfriend… Well, yeah there was the whole 'spooked on how my friends would take me being gay' thing but…" she gave a light shrug, "I liked having something that wasn't just centered on the blood and vamp dust and… well, something that just wasn't centered around Buffy…"

Dawn considered this and then gave Willow a smile. "So, you do get me, huh?"

"Duh!" Willow wrapped her arm around the girl. "Of course, this is why we spazzes have to stick together."

"I'm not a spaz!" Dawn whined with a laugh.

Willow snickered and took out another slice of pizza. "Well, I'm going to go back upstairs. You guys staying down here or coming up?"

Dawn and Mikaela exchanged glances. "Down here." The younger one said and the mechanic nodded.

"Okie dokey… but…" Willow looked nervous and embarrassed. "Dawnie… Mikaela… you guys…be good." That was the discreet Tara way to say 'Please don't have sex and I end up hearing it.' And then she went up the stairs and closed the basement door behind her.

Dawn and Mikaela both broke into snickers. "Think we should tell them this gay thing was a whole joke?" Mikaela asked.

"One lie at a time." Dawn said as she closed the pizza box and snuggled under the covers.

Mikaela rested on her back and was silent for a while before she spoke. "Did you and Ironhide fight?"

She felt Dawn stiffen. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough…" Was Mikaela's reply. "Want me to go out and dismantle him?"

Dawn gave a lit smirk. "With a tire iron?"

"Led pipe."

Both girls snickered at that. After a moment the laughter died out of Dawn's eyes. "He called me a nuisance…"

Mikaela sighed. "He's just being a jerk… and I think he's not so much mad than he is hurt that you didn't tell him. You two've been hitting it off pretty good and I guess he kind of feels responsible for you."

Dawn scoffed. "Just what I need. More people to protect fragile Dawnie from the big bad world." She rolled over onto her side, turning her back to the other girl. "As if I don't get enough from people here."

s.s.s.s

A few hours later, back inside, Tara fanned her hand over the pizza, hoping it would be cool enough to eat soon. She had woken up with a rumbling stomach and had micro waved her some pizza but left it in too long. Willow was now upstairs asleep along with Xander and Anya. Miss Kitty Fantastico was curled up in her lap and the small Chihuahua Mojo was passed out on the couch. She had checked on Sam since Mikaela had left him to hang out with Dawn but he was sound asleep. She had a sinking feeling there was going to be a fight about that tomorrow. But, it probably wouldn't be too bad. It wasn't like either one of the girls was Sam's girlfriend or anything.

Her mind drifted back to earlier when she and Willow were attacked by vampires in the cemetery. Buffy had killed most of them except for the blonde that had pounced on her. She had a nagging feeling she had seen her before.

_Pretty, blonde… really bright blue eyes… Eyes I had seen before…_

Tara bolted out of her chair when her memory clicked. "Oh crap!" She exclaimed and quickly rushed over to the telephone.

s.s.s.s

Tranquility, Nevada

The mattress was a little lumpy but soft and comfortable and well-worn, but he did make sure that it got plenty of use. Except for tonight, he was the only one in his bed as it had been for the whole week. Honestly, it wasn't really bothering him. He had more important things to worry about than sex, or lack thereof. Mainly his missing little sister.

Trent sighed and rolled over onto his stomach, lifting his head to peer at the clock. It was five fifty in the morning. He got out of bed and stretched, knowing full well he wasn't getting back to sleep. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and immediately felt something small and furry rubbing across his leg.

"Reow."

It was Zorro, Mia's kitten. Mia had loved cats. He stopped and mentally bitched at himself for thinking of his little sister in the past tense. She wasn't dead until he had proof that she was dead. And if she was then he'd hunt down whoever killed her they'd wish their mother had gotten an abortion before they were born.

Scooping up the small cat, Trent headed out of his room and into the kitchen. He usually preferred to eat before his father woke up. No need to make an already surely bad day worse by dealing with him when he didn't have to.

He bent down to pour Zorro some Kitten Chow and then fixed himself a Pop Tart and a bowl of cereal. Later today he was going to drive back up to Sunnydale to look for Mia or to ask around. He wasn't sure that it would work, but he couldn't stay here and do nothing.

That and his father was _really_ tap dancing on his last nerve.

Their relationship had never been that wonderful, regardless of all the attempts Trent made to try and please him. He had a feeling that it had something to do with his mother's death. He didn't know much about it, but he knew that she died when he was a baby according to his aunt but he had a feeling that there was something more that she wasn't telling him.

_Vindicated! I am selfish. I am wrong. I am right I swear I'm right._

Trent absently reached over to get his phone and blinked at the number. The area code wasn't local.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" It was a girl's voice. "Is this Trent Daniels?"

"Yes…"

"My name's Tara Maclay, y-you gave me your number at the Magic Box store in Sunnydale. You told me to call if I had anything on your sister."

His eyes widened and he felt fear and hope swell in his chest. "Yeah…?"

"Look… you're going to think I'm crazy but-"

The doorbell rang and he looked up. "Trenny!" A soft female voice called.

Only one person called him that.

Rushing to the door, he looked through the peephole to see Mia standing on the porch, looking over her shoulder every now and again and fidgeting. Breathing a huge sigh of relief he turned back to the phone while he unlocked the door.

"She's back home now. She just got here, but thanks for your help."

"No! Wait-" She'd started but he'd already closed his phone after opening the door.

"Mia, the Hell?!" He yelled, overjoyed and pissed as well. Once he got the hugs out of his system, he was going to grill her for running off. He yanked her into a hug. "We've been so worried. Get in here."

The pretty blonde smiled and stepped inside once her brother let him go. "I was hoping you'd say that."

s.s.

Okay, sorry about the wait everyone. School has just started and on top of that… I haven't been having the best luck with writer's block… it's been a constant pain in my butt. But, hopefully it's gone for good.


	23. Explanations

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers the movie or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy while Transformers belongs to Hasbro and the movie belongs to Michael Bay and DreamWorks

S.S.S

A knocking roused Tara from a blissful sleep. Groaning, she got up from the doubles sleeping bag she shared with Willow and headed to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Sam." The teenager answered and she opened the door.

"Hey..." She gave him a smile which he returned although she could sense anger coming off the boy. Her smile was replaced with a look of concern. "What's wrong?"

Sam blinked and shook his head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." He cleared his throat. "But... the Autobots want to officially meet the rest of you and... They're not exactly a patient bunch."

The events of last night came back to her and she sighed guiltily, remembering the dresser incident. "Oh... okay... " She started to turn, "I'll get everyone up and...Whoa!" She and Sam both dodged as Willow and Xander rushed out of the room, clothes in hand, towards the bathroom.

"Me first!" Xander cried, nearly making it until Willow hip-checked him into a dirty clothes hamper. "HEY!"

Willow paid him no mind and rushed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Only to open it, blow a raspberry at Xander and then shut it again. Xander grumbled indignantly but went back into the room after giving a smile and nod of greeting to the two.

Sam nodded back and stood there in slight shock. "Thank God I'm already dressed..." He gave Tara a nod. "I'm gonna get the girls..." His mouth tightened and he started towards the stairs before stopping, turning back to Tara. "You're a... witch, right?"

Tara nodded. "Mm-hmm." She waited for him to freak out but he didn't. He just looked surprised.

"Oh..." He nodded to himself and then turned back to her. "And... you clocked Optimus with a dresser?" Now he looked like he wanted to laugh.

Tara pushed a hand through her hair. "Yeah... I feel really bad about that..."

Sam just snickered and started down the stairs. "Man, I wish I had've seen that..."

The blonde witch just sighed and went back into the room to wake up the others.

S.S.S

_'So what?! I'm still a rock star! I got my rock moves-'_

Mikaela jerked awake at the gleeful sound of P!nk's _'So What?' _screaming from her cell phone and rubbed a hand over her eyes. She felt someone next to her and she automatically reached over to cuddle her boyfriend. It was weird. Sam's waist was a lot smaller than she remembered...

And when the Hell did he grow boobs?

_Boobs!?_

"ACK!"

**THWACK!**

"OUCH!"

**THUD!**

"OUCH!"

Mikaela jolted upright and cupped her stinging ribs. "Son of a..." She hissed and took a deep breath. "Dawn, dude, did you have to elbow me in the ribs?!"

Dawn pulled herself from the floor and rubbed her backside which was still smarting from the fall. "Sorry... I didn't mean to..." Pushing her hair out of her eyes, Dawn stood up. "Pervert..." She cracked with a smile and yawned. "What time is it?"

Mikaela glanced at her phone. "It's seven in the morning." She took in her surroundings, taking in the tools, old toys, half eaten pizza and éclairs and lack of a car. That's right. She had came downstairs to the garage after the huge fight Dawn had with Buffy and to get away from Sam's Buffy raving.

She inwardly winced. She left Sam all alone upstairs for the whole night. She was pretty certain that he would be pretty pissed about that. Hopefully he would understand that she wanted to comfort Dawn.

"Wanna go back in the house?" Dawn asked.

Sighing, Mikaela got to her feet and stretched the kinks out of her back. She then followed Dawn out of the garage. They both waved at Bumblebee who was parked in the driveway and he honked at them in return. They both noticed Ironhide as well but instead of giving him a greeting, Mikaela just turned her head and ignored him while Dawn gave him glare that could've easily frosted his windshield.

"Jerk." She mumbled under her breath as she stormed into the house.

_Stupid Ironhide. I can't believe he would say that crap to me. Well, fine... if he doesn't want to be stuck with me then he doesn't have to be. Who wants to be a connected to a jerk like him anyways..._

Keeping her eyes to the carpet, Dawn was so busy seething that she didn't watch where she was going. She rounded the corner and collided head on with Sam who was coming down the stairs.

"Eep!" She squeaked as she nearly fell and he caught her around the waist to steady her.

"You okay?" He asked letting her go.

"Mm-hmm..."

Sam stepped back and then his expression changed into one of hurt betrayal when Mikaela came into the room. "Hey."

The older girl fidgeted guiltily. "Hey..."

Dawn looked back and forth between the two older teenagers and then her eyes widened. "Oh crap..." She turned to Sam. "It was my fault really. She came down to hang out with me and-"

"I'm not mad at you, Dawn." But the tone in Sam's voice clearly stated that he was mad at someone.

Mikaela sighed and took a step forward. "Sam..."

The sound of thudding footsteps caught everyone's attention along with various shouts.

"Crap! Where's my other sock?"

"Tara, where's my bra... I forgot to bring it to the bathroom?"

"We're gonna meet giant robots, I doubt they will be interested in your small breasts."

"ANYA!"

Dawn snickered and Sam sighed. "It's been like that all morning..." He turned to Dawn. "Are they...?"

"Like that all the time? Yep." Her eyes widened as she looked behind Sam. "Move!"

She pulled Sam out of the way as Willow came bounding down the stairs. "Morning!" She turned to Sam. "We leaving yet?" Her green eyes were practically dancing with excitement. She then looked at Mikaela and Dawn and her face fell. "Why aren't you guys ready yet...?"

Dawn could see that Willow's nerd was coming out full throttle at the thought of meeting giant robots and was getting impatient. The teenager sighed. "Okay, okay, we'll get ready..."

Mikaela started up the stairs but stopped and turned to Sam. She opened her mouth to say something but he just shook his head. "We kind of have to hurry." He said in a tone that stated he didn't want to hear it right now.

The girl sighed and went up the stairs, Dawn hung back and turned to Sam. "Seriously, it was my fault... Don't be mad at her." And she followed the older girl upstairs only to poke her head around the banister. "You might want to pack a lunch or something... this is going to take awhile..."

S.S.S

Glory still was not back yet.

This much he knew from the whispers and such of the disgusting little things that served her. Now, they were running about, tidying things up so they wouldn't be ripped apart once she did return. Apparently she hated it when her shoes were out of place.

Starscream leaned back against the wall and closed his one working optic. He had been trapped here for one-fourth of a lunar cycle... a human week and that irritating female still had yet to tell him why he was here!

He had a pretty good guess. His jailer was not an especially quiet talker and the servants gossiped among themselves when they thought nobody was listening, or thought he was recharging. It had something to do with a Key. But a Key to what? Some form of squishy treasure? He doubted it. What would a being like Glory need with it?

Oh, how he hated being kept out of the loop. He needed answers, and maybe he'd find a way to get out of here.

But, how would he find anything out? Glory wasn't exactly trusting of him and Rina knew better than to tell him anything and the two males usually steered clear of him.

And he hadn't seen that squishy boy, Ben around lately either.

That left him one option, and oh how his fuel tank wanted to purge at the thought of it, but if he could kiss that slagger Megatron's aft for countless vorns, then he could pull this off easily.

Pushing himself off the wall, he walked forward until his hands pressed against the energy. Scanning the area, he found the one he wanted busily mopping the floor.

"Hey, you..."

The servant looked up and regarded him in surprise. "What?"

Starscream looked over the slave to make sure the others were busy. The two main ones were straightening up the closet while his jailer devoured a squishy sparkling while listening to a small music player.

They were all utterly distracted. Good. Now, if he could only recall this one's name.

_What did Glory call it again...? Oh, right, now I remember._

Crouching down to its level, he tilted his head to the side, trying his hardest to look harmless and he lowered his voice a couple of pitches. "I was wondering if you could keep me company... It's getting rather lonely in here, Gronx."

S.S.S

Outside in the Summers' driveway, Bumblebee and Ironhide sat in park. The yellow scout was curious to actually meet the rest of the humans but he could tell that the older bot was still slagged off at Dawn. Bumblebee wasn't mad at the girl. He had heard enough of the fights to know that Dawn had promised her sister whatever this weirdness was a secret.

Dead humans that drank vital fluids, extremely strong femmes, femmes who could move things with their wills.

His engine gave an amused rev at the thought of Optimus getting smacked with a clothing container by a female. How he wish he could've seen it.

The sound of the front door opening drew his attention. The humans came out of the house and the first thing he noticed was Sam. The brunette boy was carrying Mojo in his arms, facing straight ahead, each of his movements tightened with anger. He knew his ward well enough to know when he was upset. He also noticed Mikaela and the guilty expression on her face. Dawn followed behind them, looking extremely nervous.

Behind them was the blonde femme, Buffy. She met Dawn's eyes and both of them looked away, mouths tightening. Both of their walks became faster, more angry as Dawn headed towards him and Buffy went to the vehicle parked in front of him.

He opened his rear door for Dawn and quickly shut it before she could slam it. He hated it when angry humans did that!

The other humans made their way towards the vehicle. The male got into the driver's seat though it was clear by the way he kept looking back at both Ironhide and himself that he wanted to ride in one of them. He must've been the only one who could drive and the femmes were probably still nervous.

Although one of them apparently was not. The redhead female looked back at him but was about to get into the car before the taller blonde holding the small kitten stopped her with a smile.

"Go on, Willow..."

The redhead smiled and hugged the other female before running over to him as Sam and Mikaela got into the front seats. "Hi! Can I ride with you guys?"

Sam just shrugged, apparently used to the redhead's eagerness. It surprised Bumblebee but he opened his rear door for her. She let out a slight squeal of glee before climbing in next to Dawn. "This is so cool!" She looked around like she was looking for something. Probably something she could focus on while speaking to him. "Erm... I'm Willow by the way."

"I'm Bumblebee." His voice came from the speakers.

The older girl's eyes widened and she broke into a huge grin. "Oh this is awesome!" She looked back at Ironhide. "Hey, doesn't he have a person... so, y'know, it won't look like Haunted Car or something?"

Dawn folded her arms across her chest and looked away. "I'm not riding in that jerk."

Willow looked back. "Well, maybe I could..."

Bumblebee's speakers cranked to life. _"He's not as cuddly as me, I can tell you that."_

Mikaela sighed and opened Bee's door. "I'll go... Besides, I want to talk with him anyways."

Sam didn't even say anything, just let her go. Bumblebee was worried. What had happened between the two of them to get the boy so angry? He would be sure to ask them both later, but right now they had more pressing matters.

He backed out of the driveway as Dawn climbed forward into the front seat next to Sam. "Sam, really... If you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me."

Sam sighed as they started down the road. He noticed the Xander's car following as well as Ironhide. He glanced at Dawn. "I'm not mad at you Dawn. I get why you left. Your Mom got kidnapped by some psycho bitch, Ironhide was being a jerk, you had to stay home and worry and when they get back you just had two really big arguments. I get why you needed time out. And I get Mikaela hanging out with you since you were having a really crappy day. But she could've told me, or sent a text or something..." He sighed and shook his head. "But, no, she just up and left... right after I nearly got eaten alive."

Dawn swallowed and turned her head away. "I'm sorry, Sam..." She sighed. "I should've told you about the crap that happens here..."

Sam was silent for a moment but then gave her a small smile. "I probably wouldn't have believed you, so stop beating yourself up."

"Um..." Willow spoke up from the backseat. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you, but can't you get that Mikaela wanted to be with her girlfriend when everyone, me included, were being big jerks?" The witch blinked when Dawn let out an unladylike snort.

"She's not my girlfriend." Dawn said. "We just made that up to throw Buffy off. It was spur of the moment. I didn't know she was going to tell everyone... so, we just ran with it. She's Sam's girlfriend."

Willow's eyes widened and she gave Dawn a disbelieving stare. "You... you made it all up? But... the snogging in front of the Magic Box..."

Dawn lightly chuckled. "You guys were all watching, I had to make it look good."

The redhead just sat in mute shock for a moment. "Wow... so... you're not gay? Or bi?"

Dawn smiled. "Nope, strictly d-"

"Dawn!"

"I was going to say 'dudes only', God!" Dawn laughed and leaned back in her seat. Sam was giving her a 'yeah right' and she returned it with a 'seriously' look. Turning her head, glanced out the window as Ironhide and Mikaela passed them. The brunette's face was contorted in annoyance and her mouth was moving angrily. It looked like she was arguing with the Weapon's Specialist about something.

Inside of Ironhide, Mikaela wad doing exactly that.

"I don't see why you have to be such a big jerk to her!" The girl growled. "She's done nothing but help you, cooperating with you, lying to her friends and family for you and you have to be a jerk!"

An irritated growl emitted from the speakers. "She should have told us about what was going on here. Had we have known then Sam may not have nearly been killed."

Mikaela froze at that but continued. "If she had came up to you and said. 'Hey, guess what? There's dead people walking around that drink blood and get fried by sunlight, and witches that can levitate dressers' would you believe her? Considering most people on this planet don't believe in that sort of thing?"

His engine revved angrily. "No, but then she could have proved it to us."

"After she promised her sister not to say a word of that? The same way she promised not to out you guys? Even with all she's dealing with?" Mikaela growled in annoyance. "For goodness sake, Ironhide, her mother has a life threatening illness and then was kidnapped by some psychotic bitch, her sister's attacking her and all you can think about is how she refused to tell you something she promised someone else that she wouldn't?!" Shaking her head, she looked up at the car's ceiling. "Wow..."

Ironhide growled but continued. "And a giant mutant serpent... How could she not tell us about that? That the thing attacked her and tried to take off with her? Or that dead reanimated humans probably come after her and... whatever the Pit else...? I just can't understand why she couldn't speak to me about it?"

Hold on. He said 'me' and not 'us'. Mikaela blinked as realization hit her. "You're mainly hurt, aren't you?"

Ironhide said nothing but that was all the answer she needed.

Sighing, she looked up when they drove up to the top of the Bluff. "Optimus and Ratchet are already here? Wow."

Ironhide said nothing, only opened his door for her. She slid out just as Bumblebee and Xander drove up. Bee's doors popped open and the two teens, Chihuahua and the witch spilled out as everyone else exited Xander's car. She moved over to the others, noting the way Willow and Xander fairly danced in anticipation. Anya and Tara hung back, one looking curiously nervous while the other just looked curious. Tara was holding a docile Miss Kitty Fantastico against her chest. Buffy had stepped forward and Mikaela saw the way she glanced at her sister and Dawn met her gaze, challenge in her eyes. Buffy actually looked away first.

"So, what was it like?" Xander whispered to Willow.

"Awesome. Bumblebee is so much fun and a total sweetheart!" Willow whispered back. "Although he kept hitting on me with songs."

"He's a huge flirt." Sam explained. "None of the girls are safe, I'm letting you know that now."

Tara and Anya exchanged glances while Buffy stifled a giggle but quickly turned serious as the red and blue Peterbilt and the yellow H2 Hummer pulled up toward them. The truck stopped a few feet in front of them and the headlights moved upward and the grille popped forward. The sound of shifting metal and gears filled the air as the red and blue truck grew in size, into a more humanoid shape.

The other three did the same thing and the Scoobies all turned to look, taking it all in. Even the ever levelheaded Anya was stunned speechless and grabbed for Xander's hand just as Tara did the same thing to Willow.

"Holy crap..." Xamder muttered in awe. "It's much different watching it from the ground..."

"I know, right..." Willow nodded, not taking her eyes off them.

Once he was in his bipedal mode, Optimus looked down at the others, judging their reactions. The older male and the redheaded woman were both looking up at him and the others with excitement. Buffy watched him curiously but was not afraid. Tara mainly looked a bit guilty, embarrassed and a little nervous and the other blonde female looked curious and a bit surprised. But, there was no fear from any of them. It was a rather nice change.

He glanced over at the three younglings. Both Sam and Mikaela were glancing back at the other humans, judging their reactions while Dawn kept stealing glances at her sister. She suddenly met his optics and quickly looked away, slightly fidgeting and biting her bottom lip. His scanners picked up on her quickened heart rate. She was afraid and ashamed, and he was pretty certain he knew what about.

Buffy took a step forward and cleared her throat. "Erm... hi."

He nodded at her. "Buffy Summers."

The small blonde sighed. "Okay... um... I guess we should do the introduction thing..." She gestured at the redhead. "That's Willow... Willow Rosenberg."

The girl smiled brightly and waved. "Hi! Nice to see you again... y'know, without the drama and the yelling and hexing and..." She stopped looked at Buffy who gave her a sardonic smile. "I'm doing it again, huh?" Buffy nodded and she gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry... I do this babbling thing.... mainly when I'm nervous, or around something _really _awesome. Or in this case both and..." She stopped again. "Crap, I'm doing it again... I'll just stop talking now."

Optimus gave her a small smile. "A pleasure to meet you, Willow."

Buffy nodded to the tall male next to her. "This is Xander Harris."

The young man gave a grin and wave. "Hi..."

Optimus nodded to him. "Hello, Xander."

Buffy looked behind her. "That's Tara Maclay."

Optimus gave the shy blonde a nod of greeting. He really wanted explanations from her. He wasn't angry with her. He understood why she attacked him, he just wanted to know how.

"Hello again, Tara."

The young girl gave a tentative nod and small smile. "Hi..."

Buffy gestured to the other female with chemically altered hair. "And this is Anya..." She looked confused and glanced at her. "What's your whole name again...?"

Anya sighed in slight exasperation and turned to Optimus with a bright smile. "Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins." She then waved. "Hi."

It was at that moment her cell phone rang. "Crap..." She flipped it open. "Hello...?" A pause. "Giles? My battery's about to die..."

Buffy's eyes widened as Anya spoke with the man. She had forgotten to call Giles up here. "Tell him to come up here."

"I'm at Kingman's Bluff with everyone else... Buffy wants you to come up here. We're meet-" She stopped. "Battery died." She put her phone away and then her eyes widened. "And I didn't get to mention..." A barely concealed snort. "Oh this is going to be interesting..."

"Who is this Giles?" Ratchet asked and Anya waved away his concern.

"Oh, don't worry he already knows about you guys... well... the evil cop car thing. It tried to kill him." She then stopped and thought for a moment. "Actually... it tried to kill Buffy, the weird little thing was what tried to kill Giles."

Dawn's eyes widened and she turned a disbelieving look at Buffy. Giles nearly got killed as well and she didn't tell her that. She folded her arms over her chest and shook her head, flopping down on a boulder. And that cow had the nerve to be all high and mighty with her.

"Think we should put off this until he gets here?" Xander asked and Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, I think that'd be best. He's already gonna wig... We don't need him pissed at us for starting the info session without him."

"So we are waiting, then?" Ironhide asked irritably and Willow nodded.

"It'll only take him about ten minutes to get here."

The robots didn't seem to like that they were still going to be kept waiting but they did not protest. So, they waited for this Giles person to show up.

S.S.S.S

Something was not right.

Trent sighed as he glanced at his sister's door for the fortieth time this morning. After returning home, she quickly ran up the stairs to her room, stating that she was extremly tired. That, he understood. He had no doubts that the girl was exhausted after the week she had.

But, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Finally moving from his perch in the hallway, he headed downstairs and into the kitchen though he didn't have much of an appetite. Pouring himself a bowl of Frosted Flakes and putting a Toaster Strudel in the toaster, the young athlete sighed as he tried to fight off his worries.

It was right when he pulled her in the house and demanded that she get inside. When he was alone in the kitchen with her, something felt off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt a cold chill run up his spine and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

And not only that, Zorro had totally freaked out. That little cat loved Mia, but when their gazes locked the little kitten shrank back and darted out of the room as fast as his little legs could carry him.

_Calm down, dude... You're spazzing over nothing._

Although there was a tiny voice in the back of his head that was telling him that he wasn't.

S.S.S.S

It was a quiet wait. The Autobots all stood while the humans either sat, stood or leaned against trees. The silence was thick with tension. Mikaela and Sam not really looking at each other, neither was Dawn and Buffy. Dawn would every now and then glance over at Ironhide but he had his back to her. Bumblebee kept glancing down at his three young human friends, worriedly while Buffy regarded each of the robots slightly warily.

Anya glanced at everyone and sighed. This quiet thing was getting really irritating. The least someone could do would be to make small talk or something. Really, there were alien robots here and no one was making them feel welcome. Kind of the way no one made her welcome...

Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself from the tree and turned to the nearest Autobot and gave a smile. "Hi... Ratchet, right?"

The yellow bot nodded at her. "That's right. And you are Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins."

She nodded. "So..." Awkward pause. "So, you're like a doctor, huh?"

The CMO nodded. "Yes."

The girl nodded. "Oh... so... have you ever worked on a human before?"

Ratchet shook his head as he answered. "I have performed scans on humans before. I am able detect ailments, foreign substances in the human body and I can suggest treatments for conditions, but I have never actually treated a human, not in the way you are thinking."

"Hmm..." Anya seemed thoughtful for a moment before she spoke. "Well, if you do work on a human be really careful."

"I am always careful when it comes to handling humans. I understand how fragile you are in comparison to us."

"Yeah, I'm sure compared to giant robots they're...we're pretty puny." She let out a small wistful sigh as she recalled her demon days before continuing. "But, yeah... and be really careful if you're working on a girl... and especially if you're working downstairs."

All human heads snapped up and whirled towards them but the pair paid no attention.

Ratchet tilted his head in an inquiring manner. "Downstairs?"

Anya nodded. "Mm-hmm, downstairs. Y'know, the vagina?"

"Ah, I see."

Mikaela's mouth dropped open and Dawn ran a hand through her hair uneasily. "Here we go..."

Willow glanced worriedly at Ratchet and was surprised that he didn't seem the least but perturbed by what the woman was saying. She gently nudged Dawn. "Shouldn't we stop this?"

Dawn shook her head. "Nah... trust me, he'll be all right..."

"Those two are made for each other..." Sam muttered and squirmed as Anya continued.

"Yeah... I mean, I hate going to a gynecologist because sometimes they don't get how sensitive it is down there," Anya continued and then rolled her eyes, "especially the men. That's why my gynecologist is a woman. I figure since she has a vagina of her own, she knows how sensitive another woman's must be." She scoffed. "The men on the other hand... I went to a male gynecologist before..."

"And that did not go well...?"

"I wanted to eviscerate him. H-he was wasn't gentle. I had to threaten to pull out his liver and make him eat it before he finally got the picture. I mean, it was like 'Hey... be gentle, you jerk before I kill you. I need that.' Then he lightened up on the probing."

Ratchet's expression was slightly amused. "I would imagine so after threatening to disembowel him."

Dawn just held in a snicker. Ratchet had no idea that in those days a threat from Anya was nowhere near empty.

"Yeah, he shaped up after that... Although...the one thing I can't stand about gynos... men and women alike...is that the least they could do is heat up those duck-lip thingamajigs!" She complained.

While Xander and Sam looked highly uncomfortable the rest of the girls all had slightly agreeing looks, except for Dawn who looked confused.

"Duck-lip things?" She sounded slightly nervous.

Ratchet's eyes dimmed for a moment before brightening. "The speculum, you mean?"

"Yeah, that too." Anya then turned to Dawn. "You've never been to a gyno?" When the girl shook her head, the ex-demon sighed. "Well, it's not fun." She turned back to Ratchet. "Be glad you're not a human girl. The crap I have to go through now! You're all naked under a paper dress and on a bed/table... and your feet go in those holder things and you're all exposed. Very undignified. And then they take that speculum thing and jam it in, then stretch you open... And you're afraid that it's going to be like that forever and utterly useless during sex. And then there's that little Popsicle stick thing and run it around, then the mascara brush thing and that is NOT pleasant. Little prickers running along in there and don't even get me started on when they take their fingers and-"

"Ooh! Giles is here!" Xander said suddenly.

"Oh, thank God..." A red faced Sam breathed in relief.

Dawn glanced at Mikaela for conformation and was horrified when the older girl gave her an affirming nod. Damn, she was not looking forward to her first Pap in a few weeks.

She was brought out of her gyno-phobia at the sound of tires approaching. She looked up and saw a blue car coming up the dirt road. She had heard that his trendy sports car was totaled last week. He had told her it was someone speeding but she had a feeling it was that cop car now that she knew the truth.

The blue Ford Focus suddenly came to a screeching halt, several yards away from them. After a moment Buffy's cell phone rang.

"It's all right, Giles." The Slayer said. "They're okay. They helped me last night."

After a few seconds, the car started up again, although driving much slower than before. Once at the top of the overlook, the door popped open and an older male exited, not taking his eyes off of the four gigantic beings in front of him. He slowly moved forward and over to Buffy.

"Buffy... it appears you have some..." He swallowed nervously, "things to clear up."

"Aren't they cool?" Willow whispered excitedly. "They're really nice, though... even after Tara smacked the big one with a dresser last night."

Giles turned shocked eyes to Willow but then turned back to the group of giants and took a step forward. "Erm... hello."

Optimus knelt forward and gave the older human a nod of greeting. "Hello. My name is Optimus Prime." He then proceeded to introduce his team of Autobots. Giles introduced himself and then moved to stand with the rest of the group.

"I believe it would be best if we were to start the explanations." Prime stated and then began telling the story of his world, the war and how Earth got mixed up in it.

S.S.S.S

"So... is it doable?"

Doc looked up at the hopeful face of his granddaughter and smiled. "Yes, Shells. It is. However... this will take much more than the usual equipment. You have to do this on a certain day at a certain time... And you'll need some very special things."

Shelly nodded at her grandfather and winced, instantly regretting the movement. Her head was still throbbing from that run in with Spike. She was going to dust the Billy Idol wannabe first chance she got.

"Here's the list of stuff." Doc handed her a slip of paper. "You might need more than what's on that list. This is new territory for me too." He took her hand in his and squeezed. "Be careful, okay?"

Shelly smiled. "I will..." She hugged the old man and exited the apartment.

S.S.S.S

"Whoa..." Was all Tara could say once it was finished. "I... I had saw the reports on the news after it was over but I just thought it was a terrorist attack or something."

"That's what the government wanted you to think." Mikaela spoke up and Buffy turned to her.

"So... if you were there, then that means you don't go to the private school, do you?"

Mikaela shook her head negatively. "Nope."

The short blond then turned to Dawn in shock. "So, you're having a long distance relationship!?"

Mikaela spoke up for the young girl. "Buffy, we're not dating."

All of the Scoobies except for Willow looked at her in shock. "What?" Buffy demanded.

"But...at the Magic Box... you were all tonguey with each other..." Anya commented. And both girls turned tomato red.

"Hey! There was never any tongue... in any form!" Dawn yelled, not noticing Mikaela trying not to laugh. "It was mainly to throw you off... She was telling me about Mission City and Buffy and Spike thought we were together so Mikaela went with it and I followed along. She then shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that she'd blab to everyone."

"Wow... Dawn's a way better liar than you were at her age..." Willow mused but quickly shut up at the look Buffy gave her.

Buffy sighed and shook her head. "That's the last time I listen to Spike..." She then turned back up to Optimus. "So... now, you guys are here... and what... you guys found Dawn? How'd you meet her?"

"Ironhide met her first." The red and blue bot explained and Ratchet nodded.

"There's something about Dawn. Ironhide says that he feels drawn to her and she him." Ratchet explained. "He believe it has something to do with some odd form of energy that he came in contact with right before the war started."

Buffy's brow furrowed. "Energy?" She looked over at Ironhide. "What kind of energy?"

"It was green and shiny. I was minding my own business when it appeared. This... rip appeared in the sky and it came through. It charged at me and overwhelmed me. I thought I was going to die but then..." He trailed off, and if a giant robot could look embarrassed then Ironhide was doing exactly that.

"And then what?" Buffy asked and blinked when Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee began to snicker. Ratchet and Optimus both looked mildly amused and Dawn had that look on her face, the one where she was trying to stay mad and fight laughter. "What?"

"You three shut up!" Ironhide growled at Sam, Mikaela and Bee which only cracked them up even more.

"It overloaded him." Ratchet explained to the confused humans. "Which would translate to 'orgasm' in human terms."

There was an awkward silence as they took this in.

"Oh... Wow..." Tara said after a moment. "That's... Wow..."

"Giant robots have orgasms?" Anya said, voicing what the rest were thinking. "But... that would mean you'd have to have sex..." She craned her neck back to peer between the legs of the nearest bot, which happened to be Ratchet. "I don't see anything..."

All of the teenagers cracked up after that and Ratchet just gave the young woman a dry look. "We do not mate as humans do, Anya."

Looking a bit sheepish, Anya backed off. "Sorry." And then she looked confused and intrigued. "But.. you guys do... do it?" She looked thoughtful and then glanced back up at Ratchet. "Promise to explain it to me later?"

If you wish." The CMO nodded.

"_Anyway..."_ Ironhide growled impatiently, "When the energy collided with me... after the... incident, I saw things." Giles straightened in interest.

"What sort of things?"

"Different worlds... many different worlds... And... I got the feeling that whatever that thing was, it knew me. I asked it what it was, it said it did not know and then it took off. I didn't have time to worry about it after that because the war started."

Buffy was quiet for a moment and then she looked up at the black mech. "So... what does that have to do with Dawn?"

"When it was over, I noticed something seemed off. It felt like that energy was calling to me. So, I took off and

"When everything was over, I started sensing something that felt a lot like whatever that thing was. So, I followed it here and then I met Dawn." His optics shifted to the young girl and she looked away. He suppressed a grunt of annoyance and continued. "When I met her, I felt drawn to her. Something about her reminds me of that energy I came in contact with."

"When Ironhide informed us of this, we came here to meet her. Mikaela spoke with her first. We've questioned Dawn about this." Optimus said. "She's said that she has no memory of ever coming into contact with anything of the sort."

"We've conducted thorough scans on her and-" Ratchet stopped at the looks of surprise and outrage on the Scoobies' faces.

"Scans?!" Buffy demanded.

"Oh chill out, I said that he could." Dawn snapped, finally exchanging words with Buffy since the fight.

Buffy glared at the younger girl but turned back to the robots. "Okay... so... You scanned her, there was nothing... So... then what?"

"While I was unable to detect any energy residue on either one of them, the connection is still felt between the two of them. And recently, it seems that its beginning to grow."

Giles stepped forward and turned to Dawn. "Dawn, exactly what is the nature of this connection?"

The teenager looked up and shrugged. "Well... it started out that I felt like there was something reaching out to me. It was really weird... then after I met him, it started getting even more bizarre. Sometimes I think I can get his emotions... and I _really_ don't want to. He said he's getting the same thing from me."

"It isn't often." Ironhide put in and Dawn turned her head away when he spoke. "It's usually the more strong emotions..." He turned his head and grumbled. "Youngling females and their drama..."

"Shove it!" Dawn snapped.

"Guys..." Mikaela said hesitantly, placing a comforting arm on Dawn's shoulder while Bee did the same for Ironhide.

"Ironhide, Dawn..." Optimus spoke in a admonitory tone and they both grudgingly turned away from each other, hackles lowering only slightly.

Buffy turned a slightly astonished look at Dawn. Since when did she listen to anyone like that? Okay, yeah, Optimus was a commanding force all on his own and she was sure if she had a thirty-foot robot speaking to her like that, she might be inclined to listen but... why didn't the younger girl show her respect like that?

"Buffy," The Autobot leader's voice pulled her from her pouting and she looked up. "Sam and Bumblebee informed me that you've been attacked by Barricade." His expression was serious. "What happened?"

The short blonde shrugged. "The first time... I was leaving school. I was in the really crappy part of town... This policewoman came up to me, accused me of being a hooker and then next thing I know her car charged at me with these... pokey things. I managed to bend one of them back and-"

"Whoa, wait, what?" Sam interrupted, wide-eyed. "You bent one of Barricade's blade things?"

"It's because she's the Slayer..." Willow explained although this only drew more confused looks from the robots.

Buffy sighed. Since she would obviously need them the next time this Barricade dude popped up, she started to explain. "Well, see... it started my freshman year..."

S.S.S

"So... Glory is an actual goddess, and she ruled with two other gods but they turned on her... I already knew this... How about telling me something I don't know... Like, what is this Key?"

Gronx sighed as she eyed the metal giant. She had been hoping that he wanted to accept her previous offer but no, all he wanted to do was talk. It wasn't like she hadn't had relations with giants before, so she had no doubts that she would be able to copulate with the mech. Really, being stuck with no one but siblings and other females tended to grate.

"I've already told you about Glory's history, Starscream... don't you think we can do more than just talk...?"

She could've sworn she saw disgust creep into the mech's working eye before his expression turned neutral.

"With this barrier in place, I doubt that would be possible..." His red eye widened and then he leaned down to her level, a fluid move that belied his mangled appearance, "unless... you can undo this shield."

The female demon stiffened and cleared her throat. "I... um... I do not think her eminence or Lady Rina would approve of me tampering with..."

"Oh, but I would be _so_ grateful if you did..." When he spoke, his voice came a low, sensuous rumble that sent sparks of desire racing through her body. And the way he was looking at her made her break out in goosebumps.

"I..." her cheeks heated up and she cleared her throat again, "...can see if they're anything in my books..."

"And what the _Hell_ are you two, doing?"

Gronx gasped and whirled around at the sound of Glory's voice. "M Goddess... I..."

"Shoo... and go run me a bath." She waved the female demon away and the minion bowed and scurried off into the shadows, head bowed low.

Starscream fought the urge to screech in frustration. He had been so close! Shifting his optic back at the femme, he took in her dusty appearance. It looked like she had just finished digging herself out of a hole.

She caught his gaze and he felt his fuel tank jerk at the look in her eyes. He just knew it would not bode well for him.

Seating herself in the chair, Gronx recently occupied, she crossed her ankles.

"You wanted to know why I wanted you? Well, listen up..."

S.S.S

"So... yeah... that's pretty much it."

Buffy had just finished explaining what she was, how she became the Slayer and then attacks she faced at the hands of Barricade as well as Giles run in with Frenzy, and Spike's too. And she had to admit, the shocked looks on the faces of her new robotic comrades were pretty amusing.

"Well... that explains the heightened energy... as much as any of this makes sense..." Ratchet finally spoke.

Optimus took all of this in and then turned to the ones behind the Slayer. "And... the rest of you?"

"Huh?" Willow asked intelligently and then brightened. "Oh! I'm a witch."

"Witch." Tara raised her hand.

"Watcher..." Giles said, though Buffy had already explained his roll.

"Thousand year old former demon." Anya declared, earning shocked looks from the Autobots and the two older teenagers.

"Carpenter..." Xander raised his hand with a sigh. "Otherwise... normal guy... But I can dry wall like no other." Willow put her arm around him.

"You're more than that, and you know it."

"Yes, sweetie. You're a stallion in the sack." Anya slid her arms around him and he turned eighty different shades of red and laughed nervously at the barely concealed snickers from the teens and slightly amused looks from the bots.

"Thank you, Anya..."

Turning away from the exchange, Buffy looked up to find Optimus regarding her again and she tried hard not to shift under his gaze.

"Buffy, do you know why Barricade would attack you?" He asked

_Thin pink lips pulled into a disbelieving smile as the officer stepped aside. "I think that I'll let my partner question you."_

She bit the inside of her lip and swallowed the lump in her throat.

_Black steel fingers clenched around her body, shaking her and slammed her through the window. Glass slashed her skin and she screamed. Her head was snapped forward when the hand yanked her back out and slammed her into the brick wall_

"_Are you vampire Slayer Buffy Anne Summers!?"_

Her palms began to sweat.

_Black talons dug into her upper arms. "__You're going to tell me everything you know about the Key. I know you have it, or at least you know something about it_."

Dread twisted her stomach into little knots and she raised her head, looking Optimus straight in the optic.

"I really don't know..."

While the two leaders were talking, only Mikaela and Bumblebee noticed Dawn tugging Tara off to the side but kept their attention on the matter at hand.

Off to the side, Dawn had pulled Tara behind a few trees to speak privately.

"Tara..." The young girl started, staring at the witch intently.

"Yeah?"

"This whole connection thing I have with Ironhide..." She looked down at the ground for a moment and then back up at her friend, eyes like blue titanium, "... can you get rid of it?"

S.S.S.S

Okay, I'm not too happy with this chapter but I wanted to get something out. There will be more in a few days and I'm so sorry about the wait.


	24. Why Must Everything Suck?

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Transformers the movie. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy and Transformers belongs to Hasbro while the movie belongs to Michael Bay.

A/N: Again, sorry for the wait. Work, school, final, winter break with no internet access kept me from being able to update... plus the fact that my laptop is having a major UTI .

Why Must Everything Suck?

"You want me to what...?"

The meeting had ended about ten minutes ago. Xander had taken Willow back to campus while Giles, Anya and Buffy had all went to the hospital. Dawn had said she would catch up later. Now, the robots were all conversing in their own language which sounded pretty bizarre to her. Sam and Mikaela sat quietly off to the side, occasionally glancing in their direction. Dawn had dragged her off to a very, very secluded spot to explain her reasoning. She still could not believe what was being asked of her.

Dawn leaned back against the tree, arms crossed, eyes like steel. "I want you to get rid of whatever the Hell is connecting me to him. It's nothing but trouble and I have enough crap to deal with. I don't need some jerk robot's secondhand drama tossed into my head."

Tara sighed and paced, trying to figure out how to handle this. "Dawn... I don't know if this is such a good idea. I don't know if I'm even strong enough to do that. I... I can probably do a spell to see what's connecting you and maybe I might be able to block your emotions from him and vice versa but I don't know if I can get rid of it. I don't even know what 'it' is."

While Tara spoke the teenager's breathing was becoming erratic with anger. When she was done Dawn turned to look at her. "You have no idea what it's like... Having drama in your head that isn't even yours... Feeling how mad and upset he is with you when you had perfect reasoning for doing what you did... And then there's this irritating reaching out, it's always there, in the back of my head." She sighed and looked up at the sky. "At first, it was pretty cool but then he has to go and be a big jerk after one of the crappiest nights of my life."

Tara stood next to her next to her and put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Dawn..." she started but the girl had already pushed from the tree and started to pace. Apparently the venting was not over yet.

"And, you'd think that with all the crap I did for him, the lying, the lying and... oh yeah, the lying, that he'd be able to let it go. Oh, but no! He has to get all high and mighty like Buffy and after all of the friggin' lying I did for his stupid metal butt..." She stopped and angrily shook her head, glaring at some unseen point on the ceiling. "Lying about where I was, lying about being gay, lying about Mom's tumor and-"

"Wait, what?!"

Dawn stopped and met Tara's shocked gaze; the color instantly drained from her face. "Oh crap..."

Standing up, Tara moved towards Dawn who backed up a bit. "What do you mean you lied about your mom's tumor?"

Losing all of her previous fire, the young girl wrung her fingers together and shifted on her feet. "When... Mom passed out that night... it was the same night I had first met the rest of the Autobots..." She looked down at the ground, unable to meet Tara's gaze. "Me and Mikaela got her outside and Mikaela had Ratchet scan her... he knew what was wrong with her in, like, ten seconds and told me. I knew what was wrong with her way before the doctors did... and I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want to out them."

Hazel eyes widened in shock and disbelief as Tara took this in. "You knew?"

Nodding guiltily, Dawn looked up at her, tears filling her eyes. "I'm sorry... I just... I..." Her bottom lip trembled and she tried to wipe away the evidence of her guilt.

Tara pulled the girl into her arms and stroked her hair. "Oh... Dawnie..."

"I'm sorry!" Dawn sobbed into her shoulder. "I just... It's weird! I mean, I haven't known them long but they're like the best friends I ever had. They actually listen to me, they make me feel important and they don't treat me like a stupid kid... I couldn't rat them out... I didn't know what would happen if Buffy found out about them so..." She lifted her head and looked at the young witch miserably. "How mad are you?"

The older girl sighed and hugged her. "Well... its not like you could've said 'My giant robot friend x-rayed my mom's head' so I get why you didn't say anything. And this was before Buffy was attacked by... Barricade so I understand the logic of keeping it a secret. But... yeah, I am a little mad but I won't get on your case about it... it's not like I haven't done things too..." At Dawn's confused look, Tara cleared her throat. "Things that... I'm not comfortable talking about... and its not because you're young... not even Willow knows and... I'd really appreciate it if you didn't say anything to Will about this... and I won't say anything to Buffy about... what you've told me."

Nodding, Dawn pulled away and wiped away the last bit of her tears. "Thanks..."

"Dawn?"

Both girls looked up to see Sam standing there. "Yeah?" She asked, trying to make it look like she was fine.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked concerned and she nodded.

"Yeah, just a little overwhelmed and stuff... I'm cool now." She sighed and straightened herself out. "What's up?"

"Optimus wants to talk to you."

Dawn's stomach dropped to her thighs. Well, she was fine up until now.

S.S.S.

"How you holdin' up, Giles?"

StartLed out of his slight daze, the Watcher turned to Buffy who was in the passenger seat. "Oh... well, um... I'm holding up well enough... though being introduced to thirty foot tall alien robots rattled me a bit..." He sighed and made a turn. "I can't believe Dawn new about them for a week and did not say anything..."

The Scooby and Autobot meeting had ended a few minutes ago and now everyone was heading where they needed to be. Xander had taken Willow back to campus as she had a study group to lead. Tara had stayed behind with Dawn and the others surprisingly and Giles was currently driving Buffy to the hospital to check on her mom and then they were heading back to the Magic Box.

"I don't know why you're all so surprised." Anya said from the back seat. "You really think with the way everyone lies and lies that the child is going to be any better?"

Buffy turned to look at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Undaunted Anya continued. "Well, come on. You lying to your mother about being the Slayer and then to everyone else about Angel? Willow about Tara? Xander about Cordelia before he cheated on her with Willow? You people all lie the mold spreads and you think that the kid, who grew up around all this, is going to be a little fountain of truth?" She scoffed and nestled into the cushions. "Someone's been slapped with the delusional stick..."

"Anya..." Giles said warningly, not wanting to upset Buffy.

"Wait, so you're saying that this is our fault?!" Buffy demanded the ex-demon.

"Well..." she paused to think then nodded. "Mm-hmm, kinda."

They pulled in front of the hospital and Buffy exited the car, fuming mad. Giles and Anya exited more slowly, the Watcher stopping to give Anya an annoyed look which didn't phase the girl at all.

"What?" She shook her head and sighed. _I bet Dawn's friends are giving her this much crap..._

S.S.S.S

"Dawn, may I speak with you a moment?"

At the prickly edge in Optimus's voice, Dawn slowly made her way over to him, much like a puppy who knew it was about to be whipped. She knew this was coming, ever since he asked her why she didn't report her attack to the cops last night.

Sitting on a rock, she swallowed the lump in her throat and raised her eyes to him. His arms were crossed and he was gazing down at her with that same look her mother got when she did something she had no business doing.

"Optimus, I-"

"Dawn," he interrupted, "While I understand why you chose not to tell us about the... oddities that you encounter, you still should have informed us."

Her nose began to prickle. _Don't cry. Don't cry. _"I know..."

"Since this planet is now our new home we must know of all of its possible dangers, especially if we are to protect you and our other human allies."

Why was it when Buffy and Ironhide gave her this speech she wanted nothing more than to make with the slapping but when Optimus said she wanted to beg for forgiveness?

_Probably because he makes a point and using the 'disapprove-y voice instead of making with the angry yelling... Disapprove-y is always way worse._

And with it being way worse, the tears Dawn fought hard to keep at bay slowly slid down her cheeks. "I'm sorry..."

"Hey, Optimus..." Sam moved over to them. "Don't be too mad at her... She did tell us... kind of." He looked back to Bumblebee who nodded.

"It was after what happened with her mom." Mikaela put in. "She told us about demons, and vamps... and something about hyena people..."

At that the bots all turned to Dawn with confused looks and she shrugged. "I was ten or eleven when that happened... all I know was Xander got possessed my some weird hyena thing and he turned into a huge jerk and then he and his pack ate a live pig... It was a thing."

Sam, Mikaela and the bots all boggled at her while Tara gave a light nod. "Oh yeah, Willow told me about that..."

"Oh, I have to sit..." Mikaela muttered, flopping onto a patch of grass.

"Uh... yeah," Sam scratched the back of his head, tucking that bit of info away. "That's creepy..." He then turned to Optimus. "But she did tell us, and not too many people believe in that kind of thing so she was probably scared we'd think she was a whack job or something."

"And she told me she knew two witches..." Mikaela said and then turned to Ironhide. "You were there."

The black bot grudgingly nodded. "Yes, she mentioned it and we both said we didn't buy into that kind of insanity."

At that, Tara bit back a snicker. Bet he bought into it now.

"And it's not like she knew about the Decepticons that were here..." Mikaela put in. Dawn had been through enough, she didn't need more angry bots fuming down her back.

Optimus considered this then turned to the blonde female who stood farther apart from the rest of them. "Tara, you knew of the Decepticons, correct?"

She jerked and turned to him, having that deep voice address her made the witch jump a bit."Huh... oh... well, I... Buffy told us about it but we d-didn't believe her at first."

"She also said that he was aiding a... demon?"

Before Tara could speak, Sam nodded. "Yeah, I saw it." He shivered at the memory. "She was... she was a hot mess! Her face was reddish brown, spikes on the cheekbones, a piranha mouth and her eyes were like rattlesnake eyes... she even had a forked tongue."

Tara's brow furrowed in thought. "I've never heard of that kind of demon... Maybe Anya knows about it... or, maybe Spike..."

Again Sam perked up. "Spike was talking to her like he knew her. He said her name was Cheryl or... something."

"Spike?" Ratchet inquired. "The reanimated human corpse?"

"The one that almost bit you and you spazzed like a sparkling." Ironhide smirked and Ratchet growled.

"Shove it up your exhaust port, slagger."

"Anyway..." Sam said, clearly not liking being interrupted, "yeah, he definitely knew her. The were insulting each other, then she asked how was someone named 'Dru' and then he charged and they tried to kill each other. Then Frenzy attacked me and that's all I heard..."

"Why would a demon want to help out Decepticons?" Mikaela wondered.

"For their own reasons." Dawn put in. "Demons have a hundred reasons for everything and ninety-nine of those reasons are totally for something bad." She turned to Optimus. "And it had Barricade attack Buffy... I'm going to guess that she knew that she couldn't take her on so she recruited something way stronger to take her out..."

Optimus considered this. "We will need more information on this creature. I believe our best option would be to talk to Spike." His gaze went back to Dawn. "Are you certain he cannot harm humans?" he asked and she nodded.

"Oh yeah. He's got a chip in his head that gives him huge headaches whenever he attacks a living thing."

"He tried to attack me and he seemed fine." Ratchet pointed out.

"The government designed the chip and you know they suck." Was all Dawn had to offer as an explanation.

No one really argued with that.

"He lives in the cemetery, right?" Ratchet asked.

"Yeah, but he's not going to come out now. It's still the afternoon." Dawn informed him. "You'll have to wait till sunset."

"Do they really sleep during the day and don't wake up until dusk?" Mikaela asked and Dawn shook her head.

"No, they can wake up. And really don't want to deal with a cranky Spike."

"But you said he can't hurt humans." Sam said.

"Yeah, but he can be really crabby."

S.S.S.S

"So, you don't remember how Glory got into the room?"

Joyce shook her head and her daughter sighed, reaching out to stroke her hair. "I'm sorry I didn't get there in time..."

"It's fine, I was saved, remember?" Speaking of which... "So... Dawn knew about this for a week and didn't tell any of us?"

"Pretty much."

Joyce sighed and leaned back against the pillows. The moment Buffy came to the hospital, she demanded that her daughter explain everything that had happened with that giant yellow thing that saved her and apparently knew her youngest. Buffy had tried to keep it from her but one adversary the Slayer could not stand against was the Angry Mother and she reluctantly told her what was probably a watered down version of what was really going on. It seemed that Dawn was a much better liar than she originally gave her credit for.

"And where is she now?" She asked Buffy.

"Uh... with Tara." She said with a bright Botox smile that Joyce didn't buy for a minute.

"She's with them, isn't she?"

The Slayer nodded, finding whatever was on the tiled floor really interesting. Joyce sighed. "Get her here. I need to have a talk with her."

S.S.S

_Sweet Dreams are made of this_

_Who had a mind to disagree..._

Tara quickly retrieved the phone and flipped it open. "Hello?... Oh, hey Buffy... No, I'm still with Dawn..." Her eyes widened. "Oh... okay, I'll tell her. Okay, bye." Tara hung up the phone and turned to Dawn. "That was Buffy. She's at the hospital now. Your mom really wants to talk to you."

Just when Dawn though her stomach couldn't think any further, it dropped all the way to her ankles.

S.S.S

"So, you're mother wishes to speak with Dawn...? Are you sure that's wise given her condition?"

Buffy sighed and leaned against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. The two were now in the waiting room while Anya chatted with Joyce, probably about her rabbit phobia or her general impression of the aliens that they met. "I don't know... I tried to change her mind but she's so stubborn..."

"Must be hereditary..." Giles said with a slight smile which Buffy returned before turning serious.

"I just keep thinking about what they said... That Dawn is linked to one of them... Do you think it has anything to do with...?" She trailed off.

Sighing, Giles removed his glasses. "I'm, uh, not sure. I hardly find it a coincidence that the two of them meet right on the same day you encounter Glory and then find out the truth about Dawn." He replaced the glasses. "In any case, I think its best if we find out the whole nature of this connection... She picks up his emotions and vice versa. Funny, I didn't even know robots could have emotions..."

"Yeah, that is weird..." Buffy mused then sighed. "Do you think I should've told them? About Dawn?"

Giles thought for a moment then shook his head. "Honestly, I think you did the right thing. While they may be on our side, we know nothing of them or what they would do if they knew the truth about her... Which we barely know ourselves as it seems..."

Buffy opened her mouth to reply but stopped when the elevator doors opened and Dawn stepped out, followed by Tara, Sam and Mikaela. Her sister met her eyes for a moment but immediately turned away from her, going straight ahead to her mother's room while the others hung back.

She sighed and stood by her mother's door apprehensively. This was not going to go over well.

S.s.s.S

"And the yellow and red one, Ratchet, and I had a discussion on the horrors of gynecology. It was nice talking to someone who didn't tell me hush at every given moment. I hope I see more of him." Anya smiled while Joyce scratched her head.

"That's... nice, Anya. So, they seemed nice?" Joyce asked, wanting to know all she could about the metal giants that hung around her daughter. Talking with Anya had cooled her down a little.

"Oh yes, well, the black one was a little grumpy but not evil and-oh!" She stopped when the door opened. "Hi Dawn." And being the smart ex-demon she was, she knew this was her exit cue. "Um, I'm going to... not be here..." and she hurriedly left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Joyce stared hard at Dawn, displeasure on every inch of her face. "Sit down."

Dawn sat.

"First of all, young lady, how could you keep such a thing from us? Alien life forms?"

Dawn fought to think of a reason. "Government secret. You're the one who told me to obey the law." It seemed she had gotten enough of people berating her. Once she'd reached her limit, that was when the attitude started to flow. With Optimus, she knew why she was guilty, he had done nothing but help her and he made valid points, plus he didn't come at her like a freight train from Hell like everyone else was doing, her mother included.

Joyce's brows nearly hit her hairline at the edge in Dawn's voice. "Watch your tone, Dawn. Now, you're going to tell me everything and you're going to tell me right now."

s,s,s,

"So... How do you think it's going?"

Mikaela sat with Sam in the waiting room, waiting on whatever news Dawn came out with on how her mother reacted. At her question, Sam gave a humorless snort.

"Somehow I don't think she's going to be as understanding as mine were." Mikaela gave a light nod of agreement.

Tension was thick between the two of them, Sam's anger at her flew around the room like locusts while her guilt made it hard to breathe. Unable to take the silence, Mikaela shifted in her seat.

"Sam..."

"Not now." His voice stung like a whip.

Not a girl to take orders from anyone, Mikaela grabbed his hand and yanked him down the hall to a secluded area so she could talk with him.

"Sam, look, I'm sorry. You're mad that I went to hang out with Dawn when everyone and everything went to Hell on her?"

Shaking his head, he let out a humorless laugh. "I'm not mad that you hung out with her. I get that and I get why she left. I get why you left... what I don't get is why you couldn't let me know. I could've went out there too."

Ebony brows shot up and she squared her shoulders. "Oh, are you sure you wouldn't have sent her into an abandoned house with your Buffy worship? That's what ran her to the garage in the first place. God, the girl had to hold herself back from yanking her sister's hair out and then you go asking her question after question about her like she's friggin' Britney Spears and Dawn's a backup singer."

Shocked, Sam's brown eyes widened and he made a disbelieving noise. "Is that it? You were jealous of Buffy?" Now he let out a humorless laugh. "So, because you're insecure and jealous, you leave your boyfriend all alone after he nearly got eaten alive?" He shook his head. "Wow."

Blue eyes widening in acute guilt, Mikaela lost all of her earlier fire. "Sam..." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Sam, I'm sorry... I didn't..."

"No," Sam shook her shoulder off. "No, you didn't." Then he turned and left, leaving Mikaela standing alone in the hallway, tears welling in her eyes.

s.s.s.

"So you snuck out at night? Twice at that, went to a place where they serve alcohol and-"

"Oh God, Mom. Buffy went to the Bronze all the time and they check IDs there. No drinking from the minor. And besides, alcohol is for straight losers." Dawn couldn't believe her Mom was on her case like this.

"I don't know if I want you hanging around them." Joyce said suddenly.

It was like someone punched her in the gut with an iron fist.

"What?!"

"Keep it down..."

"Mom, that's so unfair! Why? What'd they do besides save you from being pavement pancake? Nothing. They're the good guys. They help people."

"I know they help people and I'm grateful to that yellow and black one for saving me and beating up the one that threatened Buffy and tried to hurt her, but..." She sighed and spoke gently but firm. "Dawn, they're in the middle of some galactic war and I don't want you involved in that."

Tears of complete frustration and anguish spilling from her eyes, Dawn squared her shoulder and stared her mother in the eye, something she never once did before when she fought with her. "I'm one of their human contacts. They need me. They lost their home and they need friends. Would have me shun a foreign exchange student at school?" Her voice rose and wobbled with each word.

"This is not the same, Dawn, and you know it." Joyce said adamantly. "Now, I've already made this mistake with Buffy when she was your age and-"

That was the straw that broke the camal's back. "Why does my life have to suck just because Buffy's a freak!?"

Outside, Buffy jerked and her eyes widened, hurt by her sister's harsh words. Sam had just come around the corner and heard what she said. "Ouch... That was harsh."

Buffy said nothing, only walked away to go find solitude.

Inside, Joyce glared at her youngest child in outrage. "Don't you talk about your sister that way. She didn't ask for what's happening to her."

"And I asked to have my life policed just because of what she is? God, you make out like she's so wonderful while I'm just some little moron. Just because she's all special and whatever I gotta live like a leper?"

"My oldest is already in constant danger, I don't want that to happen to you too." Joyce took a deep breath. "Now, I know this is hurts but I'm your mother and I know what's best for you. You will not be seeing them. Is that clear?"

Tears streaming now, Dawn dashed out of the room, not saying anything. She pushed past Sam and bypassed Tara who was coming from the cafeteria. She thought she saw Mikaela crying but wasn't too sure. She did however see Buffy leaning against the wall in the hallway. Stopping, she finally spoke to her sister for the first time since last night.

"You ruin everything!"

And she continued on her angry tirade out of the hospital, leaving her sister standing there in shock. However, Buffy was quick to recover and she went after her, grabbing her by the arm. "Me? This is your fault. You should've been more honest with-"

"You're the last one to give me the honesty lecture." Dawn hissed, eyes blazing. "And I finally have something in my life that was awesome, that didn't suck and then you get involve and behold! What happens? Enter suckage."

Buffy was not going to stand here and take this from her. "Dawn, she would've forbade you from hanging out with them even if I wasn't involved."

"Yeah, because she doesn't want me to end up like you. She doesn't want my life to be all weird like yours. So, even if you're not directly involved you still make my life suck." She sighed and shook her head. "I can't have cool friends, I can't hang out, I can't do this and I can't do that all because Mom's all overprotective-y and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of paying for what you are."

Buffy took a deep breath to calm herself. "Dawn, I can't help what I am." _Just like you can't help what you are... you just don't know and you can't know._

"I know you can't help it..." Dawn seemed a little calmer now, no empty and that somehow was worse than her angry tirades. "You can't help it... and everyone else has to suffer because of it. I finally had people who listened to me... Who cared about what I had to say and didn't treat me like a nuisance... I can't even have that... I can't even have my own friends."

When Dawn turned and left this time, Buffy did not stop her. She stood there for a moment with a heavy heart before heading back to her mother's room.

s.s.s.

Tara had stood on the sidelines, listening to the entire fight between the two. When it was over she debated on which sister to go to and finally settled on Dawn. It seemed like Buffy needed some time with her thoughts.

She found Dawn outside, walking away from the hospital. A soft breeze rustled her hair and her pace was sluggish, like she had the weight of the world attached to each ankle. Jogging slightly, she caught up with her after a while. "Hey..." She said gently, putting her arm around her shoulder. "Maybe... maybe she'll come around. She's just really shaken up right now. Give her some time to sort everything out..."

Dawn said nothing, only stared at the ground blankly as she moved. It seemed like forever until she finally spoke. "Why does this keep happening? Why can't we just... be happy?"

Tara sighed. "I don't know, sweetie."

"Buffy has Riley, you have Willow, Xander has Anya... even Spike has a ho he can bang. Why can't I just have friends...?"

Tara fought to think of a comforting word but was cut off by a blaring radio. Rolling Stones if she wasn't mistaken.

_Hey, hey, baby, honey what's wrong with you?_

Both girls looked up to see Bumblebee pulling up next to them. At the sight of him Dawn broke into tears. "Bee..."

The Camaro's door popped open and she slid in. Tara just sat down on a nearby bench, deciding to leave the two alone.

Inside, the dam inside Dawn broke. "Mom said I can't see you anymore... She says its too dangerous... And not just you, but all of you. Maybe even Sam and Mikaela too..." She sighed and wiped at her eyes, feeling more hopeless than ever. "She's grateful to you for saving her but doesn't want me mixed up in the whole Decepticon thing..."

Bumblebee's spark twitched at the thought of not being able tosee Dawn again. In the course of a week he had grown quite fond of the girl. But, he could also see her mother's reasoning and understand it as well. With Decepticons lurking around, he did not want to see her hurt.

"Dawn..." He spoke carefully, his voice still giving him trouble. "I don't want to see you hurt... and there's a high chance of that with Decepticons lurking around..."

"There's a chance of me being hurt everyday just living here!" Dawn practically shrieked. "But does Mom want to see that?! No! She moved us out to the Hellmouth where I can get killed just walking outside for the mail. Not all demons come out at night but does she keep me from going to school? No. She's so hopped up on not having me be like Buffy that she doesn't get that she's ruining my life! I can't even have friends!"

Cycling a sad sigh, Bumblebee continued. "Dawn... for what its worth, I'll miss you like crazy."

The girl sniffled and rested her head on the dashboard, her tears leaking onto his interior. Her breath came out in one melancholy sigh. "Me too, Bee..."

On the bench, Tara watched the scene with sad eyes. Why couldn't that poor girl just catch a break? Now she had to lose the best friends she ever had? Well, most of them at least. She was connected to one of them... even though they were currently fighting.

Tara turned, glancing at the Topkick who was parked a few spaces from Bumblebee. Considering he thought Dawn was a nuisence, she couldn't help but wonder how he would feel about this.

S.S.S

"Mom... Do you think that was the best choice?"

Joyce stared at Buffy in shock. Since when did Buffy stand up for Dawn? "Buffy, I don't want her around some space war or whatever is going on here."

Buffy sighed and leaned back against the wall. As much as she hated to admit it, Dawn was right. And what Willow said last night was right as well. Dawn deserved to have actual friends... and friends who could look out after her just as well, if not better which she admitted grudgingly to herself, than she could. Every now and then she asked herself why she was doing this. With the way Dawn was acting she certainly had no reason to. Only Dawn's hopeless, empty tear-streaked face came to mind and she turned back to her mom.

"Look, I'm not condoning her behavior or anything but... seriously, do you think forbidding a teenager to do something is going to stop her? She wants to meet up with them, she'll find a way. And... I think it would be good for them to be around. I've met them, you've met them. They're really nice, Mom. And Bumblebee is adorable. He saved you. Ratchet's... a little Anya-ish but we can work with that. And the leader guy's really nice as well. The other one... I don't really know about him but he seemed-"

Buffy was cut off by the phone in Joyce's room. Joyce held up one hand to silence her daughter then picked up the phone with the other. "Hello?"

"Joyce Summers. This is Ironhide."


	25. Until Sunset

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Transformers the 2007 movie. Transformers belongs to Hasbro and the movie belongs to Michael Bay and DreamWorks Pictures. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I am not making a single cent off of this so suing me would be pointless.

Okay, for the record I am SO sorry about the nearly year long hiatus. First there came school, then messing up in school and stupid members of the opposite sex giving me grief and writer's block and... blarg! However, I'm back now with a new chapter and the next one should be up between Saturday and Monday... I'm not sure. In all honesty, this is not my favorite chapter. I don't really like the way this one turned out but I figured a few things needed to be tied up. Okay, her we go.

"Ironhide?"

Joyce remembered Ironhide. He was the giant obsidian mech who mainly groused at Ratchet. He was also the one who drove her to the hospital after she blacked out. Joyce glanced over at Buffy who had straightened from her position on the wall in interest.

"How can I help you, Ironhide?"

"I heard that you forbade Dawn from seeing us." He wasted no time getting to the point.

With a sigh, Joyce closed her eyes. "Listen... it's nothing personal. I'm very grateful to you all, you for bringing me here and when I collapsed and the rest of your team for saving me from that woman but I do not want my daughter involved in your war. Now, if it weren't for that then I would gladly let her be around you all."

"Oh, that's a load of slag and you know it." Ironhide growled.

Blue eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me?"

"You don't wish for her to become involved in our war? Well, its too late for that. And do you know why? Because your entire planet is involved. Because your eldest child is now directly involved which means everyone she is close to is now indirectly involved, including you. Or have you forgotten what just happened to you at the hands of that femme? She used you to get to her and the Decepticons will be no different. Listen to me, Joyce Summers. Decepticons are cunning, ruthless slaggers. And the one who attacked Buffy is no different. And to get at her he will come after Dawn the same way that femme came after you. To him, Dawn is nothing but a filthy bag of pus he can dangle in front of Buffy to get what he wants from her."

Fear gripped Joyce's heart as she took all of this in but she didn't back down just yet. "And how do you know that he wants something from her?"

"Because, if he did not he would have wasted no time killing her. Also, we've learned that he is working with a demon. Something Buffy deals with frequently from what we understand. Her enemies and our enemies have joined and now we have to do the same if any of you want to live. Do you understand?"

Breathing heavily through her nose, tears filling her eyes at the thought of what was coming for them, Joyce let out a shaky sigh. "I understand."

"Mom..." Buffy took a few steps forward but Joyce held up a hand to stop her, waiting for Ironhide to continue.

"So, we will be here to protect her and the rest of you. Though Buffy is strong for a human, she is no match for a Decepticon. That she even survived the battle with Barricade was a miracle, Joyce. You may have caught a glimpse of him at the factory..."

Joyce clearly remembered the horrible black and white mech that tried to throttle Bumblebee when she was held captive at the factory. Those glowing eyes and sharp teeth would haunt her dreams for years to come.

"Yes, I remember him..."

"Well, I do not wish to scare you but I feel it is necessary. As far as Decepticons go, standard ones at least, Barricade is rather small. Probably the smallest, aside from the Casseticons. If others were to come, Buffy would stand no chance."

"H-how big are the other ones?" That Barricade monster was well over seventeen feet tall!

"Some dwarf even Optimus. Joyce. And they are far more ruthless than Barricade can ever be and they can fly as well. Not all of them can, but some. Starscream being the main one but I'll tell you about him some other time. Your child is strong but while she may be able to keep the demons at bay, she can't handle this. We will be around to protect you all and I'll be keeping close watch on Dawn myself."

"And I think I know the main reason you don't want her involved. You want her to be different from Buffy, to have what passes as a normal life on your planet? Joyce, any one who raised two femmes such as your younglings can hardly be called foolish or stupid but you do know that the chance for a normal life is gone considering Dawn knows about the things both in your world and beyond it, right?"

"Look, Ironhide-"

"Normalcy is no longer an option, Joyce. At least let her have friends who can protect her as well as help her cope with this. Think about what I've said." And with that the line went silent.

Joyce sat quietly for a few moments before placing the phone back on its hook. She heard Buffy take a few steps toward her.

"Mom...?" She asked nervously. "What'd he say?"

Joyce just let out a sigh. "Buffy... I need time to thing, ok?"

Buffy wanted to know what Ironhide had said to her mother so pensive but she honored her mother's request and left the room, leaving her mother with her thoughts. As she closed the door and turned around she nearly collided with Sam. "Oh, sorry..."

"No problem." He gave her a concerned look. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah... Mom just needs a little time to think... Especially after Ironhide called her."

"Wait what?" Sam was highly curious. "Why would he do that?"

S.S.S.S.S.S

_As we go on  
We remember  
All the good times  
We had together_

As our lives change  
Come whatever  
We will still be  
Friends forever.

Dawn sighed and leaned back in Bumblebee's seat, her face damp with tears. "Bee, please stop..." she asked weakly. She appreciated the gesture but it was a little too much right now.

The radio clicked off and it was silent. And that was somehow worse. She glanced out the window and noticed Tara giving her a small smile from the bench before getting up to leave. She was probably going back to the Magic Box. She gave an acknowledging wave before resting back against the seat again.

Why did this keep happening? Why was every single time something good happened, it was snatched away from her? Well, not really... She didn't have that many good things to begin with.

_Well, I guess this kind of makes me part of the group. No one is really a Scooby until they lose something awesome because of stupid Sunnydale crap. _

That thought gave her little comfort.

Well, it might actually be fore the best. If anything she would try to help them and then end up getting in the way, like the dumb little kid everyone thought she was... Ironhide included.

She shifted her eyes to Bee's window, gazing at Ironhide who was parked a few spaces away. He would most likely be thrilled once he found out she wasn't going to be around anymore. But she would still be connected to him. Well, first thing she was going to do when they were gone, she was going to ask Tara and Willow to break this link. It would be pointless being shackled to someone who didn't even want to be around her.

S.S.S.S.S.S  
"The Autobots?"

Glory was pacing back and forth, wearing her displeasure like a cloak. She had just finished explaining to Starscream the reason he was here. "Yeah, those giant metal douches totally killed my fun time and trapped me in a bunch of rubble! Look at my dress! It's all nasty now!" She flopped onto the couch like a whiny teenager and folded her arms. "So, yeah... I kind of need you to take care of those losers for me. I got bigger things to worry about."

Processors reeling, Starscream leaned back against the wall. So, the Autobots were here. More than likely the same ones who were such a pain in his aft during the last battle. Oh, how he would love to rip all of them to shreds.

But, then... did he really want to help Glory? This whore who kept him locked in this invisible prison? The slagger who enlisted the aid of that demon filth who put him in this predicament? She ripped his armor off piece by piece an enjoyed every moment of it.

But then, she was a God... If he were to help her she would probably reward him handsomely. Though he wasn't too sure of that. She seemed worse than the demons and from the research he had gathered on them, they delighted in getting mortals to do what they wished in exchange for their wildest dreams come true only to watch with unbridled delight as it all came crashing down around them. And if that's what demons were like, then what would be in store for him when he finished doing what a demigod asked of him?

"And what would you have me do?" he asked slowly and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I gotta genius on me hands." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Lookie here, short bus. Why do you think Rina called you and not a random one? You're the Second in Command, right? The leader since Megaturd or whatever kicked the bucket. Get your pals down here, get them to lay the smackdown on the Autobats and the Slayer while I get my Key and get out of this Arctic panty stain. Then whatever you guys want to do to this mud ball... I don't care. I just want out."

"This Key, what is it?" Starscream asked and she gave him a glare.

"Oh, like I'm going to tell you so you can try and take it from me? Rina gave me a copy of the file they've got on you. You're like the biggest, sneakiest douche in the Decepticons according to the Auto...whatever they're called. I'm not telling you a thing. You're job," she stood and stalked toward him until she was inches away from his barrier, "is to do what I tell you if you want to live. Because, honey..." she gave him a slow smile, "just because I'm tiny compared to you doesn't mean a damn thing. I can easily hurt you and you know this..."

His Spark lurched and his processor burned with the memory of tiny hands gripping at his armor, and the excruciating pain as she ripped the plating off, piece by piece. She had been talking to him but he couldn't hear a thing over the sound of his own screams. Then she had left him, writhing and screaming on the floor. His jailer Rina had stood a little ways away, a smirk plastered to her putrid face. She had undoubtedly used that filthy magic on him so he could not move throughout the entire thing.

_If you think I'm going to let you get away with that, either one of you, you are sadly mistaken._

"Fine... I will do what you ask, Glory." Oh how it took all of his willpower to keep his tone neutral.

"Good!" She clapped giddily then fixed her eyes to his working optic. "And once I get on my seat of power, I'll be sure to fix you up real nice. My power will be infinite and whatever you wish will be yours if you succeed at this. You saw what I used to be capable of... You know I'm not bluffing." She pulled away. "Dreg! Jinx!"

At their lady's command the two came scurrying out of the woodwork like the roaches they were. "Yes, your most-"

"Shut up." She reared her fist back and punched a hole into the barrier and pointed to it. "Healing spell on him, pronto." And with that she left.

The two males exchanged glances and then looked up warily at the injured Decepticon but entered as their Goddess commanded.

S.S.S.S.S

"Mia! It's one o'clock. You should get up... or at least eat something."

Trent sighed as he stood outside of his sister's room. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with her. His skin broke out in goosebumps whenever he came close to her door. And he could recall having a similar sensation recently, back in the little backwater place called Sunnydale, where his sister first went missing. He couldn't explain it but that whole town gave him the wig. However, it was crawling with hot babes so he opted to stay a little longer. Though some of those girls gave him a bad feeling as well.

"Mia!" He called.

"I'm trying to sleep, Trent!" She called. "I'll get up around sunset, okay?" Her voice held a feral edge that he'd never heard before and tied a knot in his gut.

"Okay, fine..." He headed back downstairs.

A clang from underneath the sink caught his attention. Opening the cupboard, he smiled when he saw Zorro's fuzzy head poke out a bucket. "Hey, you." He scratched the little cat behind the ears, startled to find he was shaking. He'd been petrified ever since Mia came home.

"You know something's up with her too, huh?" He scooped the kitten up and cast an uneasy glance up the stairs. "Me too, little guy..."

"Are you bothering your sister, again, Trent? After the ordeal she's had?"

Trent's shoulders stiffened at the voice behind him. Setting Zorro down he turned to find his father behind him, the icy blue eyes he and his sister inherited glaring daggers at him.

"I just wanted to make sure she ate, Dad." His voice tight as he fisted his hands in the pockets of his loose jeans.

Looking at Trent as if he were less than a bug, the older man turned and left. "Leave that girl alone. She needs her rest." He grabbed his keys and left out the front door.

When he was gone, Trent let out the breath he had been holding and shook his head. "Some day, old man..."

S.S.S.S.S.S

"So, wait... Your Mom forbade Dawn from being around the bots and then a few minutes later Ironhide actually called her?"

Sam leaned back against the wall and let out a low whistle. "Wow..." He turned back to the girl next to him. "What'd he say?

Buffy gave a small shrug. "I have no idea. But whatever he said must've shaken her because she told me to get out so she could think... I hope he convinced her to let Dawn see them. Because honestly, with all the crap that's going on... they can protect her better than I can. I'm not worried about the demon. I killed her."

"Yeah, but there's another one you have to worry about. I saw her fighting with Spike that night. It sounded like he knew her... and the Autobots are going to question him at sunset."

Buffy's brows shot up. "Another demon? What did she look like?"

Sam shrugged. "At first she looked like an ordinary girl, brown hair... average face. Then she morphed into this... thing with spikes on her face and piranha mouth. It seemed like she knew that blond vampire guy. The bots wanted to talk to him around dusk."

The image of Spike being interrogated by four gigantic robots made her smirk despite herself. She'd definitely tag along for more than just business reasons.

The smirk soon melted off her face. So, Spike knew this demon. Well, that wasn't surprising. Spike had been around for a long time and he knew all sorts of nasties. He probably had info on this demon. Buffy doubted that it was the same demon woman she faced against. She killed it with a shard of glass that first battle. Then again, how many demons would enlist the help of Barricade? What if stabbing it through the heart didn't kill it? Well, she'd have to figure out how she'd kill it. This thing had to die and soon. No way was that thing coming for Dawn.

A small sigh escaped her. She had to nip this in the bud soon.

"So... when are you guys going to talk to Spike?"

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Dawn..."

Dawn was staring forlornly at the ceiling of Bumblebee's interior when the disembodied voice came from the speakers, prompting her to sit up straight. "Yeah, Bee?"

"Maybe you should go back into the hospital... At least to let Sam and Mikaela know what's going on..." he said quickly before she could shriek at him for even suggesting going back in there.

At the mention of her friend, Dawn reached for the door. "Oh crap... I saw her crying earlier. I gotta go see what's wrong with her. I think its the whole thing with Sam."

As she darted away, Bumblebee watched her sadly. He was certainly going to her miss her.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Dawn what are you doing back here?" Buffy asked, surprised that her sister came back at all.

"Where's Mikaela?" Dawn asked, eyes shifting to Sam who was seated next her sister. Oh crap, Sam... don't dump Mikaela for Buffy... she so doesn't want you.

"Probably in the hallway still." Sam answered.

Not sparing either of them a word, Dawn went to go find her friend. She didn't find her in the hallway but she did hear sniffles coming from the ladies room. She pushed open the door and found Mikaela seated on the small couch there, tears pouring.

"Oh hey..." Dawn sat next to her and wrapped her arms around the taller girl's shoulders. "Is Sam being a tool? Want me to beat him down?"

Mikaela let out a small chuckle. "No, it's fine... I totally deserved to have him bitch me out."

Dawn shifted guiltily. "Is this because you hung out with me last night?"

"And leaving him alone after vampires nearly ate him alive?" Mikaela finished, turning swollen eyes to Dawn who winced.

"Ooh... that's so not good... I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Mikaela waved her hand over the paper towel dispenser and a new stream automatically came out. She ripped herself a piece and blew her nose. "I was also jealous. I mean, I get that he'd want to know more about your sister since she did save him and all. I overreacted." Tossing the towel she dabbed at her eyes with a fresh one. "Speaking of which... I thought I heard you two fighting earlier and I saw you storm off. What happened?"

Dawn lowered her head and sighed as fresh tears filled her eyes. "This is about you right now, okay... Not me. You've been dealing with me enough lately."

"What happened?" Mikaela asked turning the girl toward her. "I heard bits and pieces of it... Your Mom's mad at you, right?"

"She doesn't want me hanging around the bots anymore." She sighed and wiped at her eyes. "And she probably won't want me hanging around you and Sam either?"

Mikaela's eyes widened in shock, a fist squeezing her heart. "What? Why?"

"I don't know!" Dawn huffed and pressed her back against the wall. "She doesn't want me mixed up in the war and some crap about not making the mistakes she made with Buffy."

"That's stupid!" Mikaela exclaimed. "If anything because of what's going on that should be all the more reason to let you hang around them. Because seriously, what if Barricade came out of nowhere while Buffy's fighting a demon and tried to use you to get to her? If she's busy staking some vampire how's she going to stop him from running off with you?" Resting her forehead against her fist the older girl shook her head. "God, can you ever catch a break. I mean, what the Hell?"

Dawn rested her chin in her hands and sighed. "I didn't think of it that way... but then Harmony did the same thing a while ago. So did Angelus." The thought of Angelus brought up another thought and Dawn instantly grew angry again. "And another thing! What mistake could she make with me that she made with Buffy? It's not like I'm going to go screw someone and turn them evil, or run away. All I'm doing is hanging out and having fun and being apart of something awesome and..." Her angry tirade ended in an enraged feminine growl. "This just sucks..." She then turned to Mikaela. "So, what are you going to do about Sam?"

The older girl looked a little startled that she changed the subject but paused to think. "I don't know... he was pretty upset."

"Did you apologize?"

"Of course."

Dawn fought to think of something to say but she couldn't. "Well, I don't know what to tell you... I've never been in a relationship..."

"Oh, they're loads of fun." Mikaela said with a roll of her eyes.

Dawn gave a small smile at her sarcasm. "But, I'm sure you two will work it out. You two have been through too much together to let something like this get in the way."

At that Mikaela arched a brow. "Kind of like you and Ironhide?"

Dawn bristled at that then sighed sadly. "He's probably more than happy to get rid of me."

"Oh shut up!"

Dawn whirled surprised eyes on her friend. "What?"

"You heard me." Mikaela said tersely. "He's not going to be happy that you can't be around anymore. And he's not mad at you. He's mainly hurt that you felt you couldn't tell him about what happened. He cares about you more than he'll let on but he's being a douche as a defense mechanism. He's a guy and that's how most of them work... species regardless."

"And how do you know?" Dawn asked skeptically.

"One, because I know guys and two... he told me this morning."

The younger girl's eyes widened. "What? Explain!"

Mikaela straightened herself up. "Well, here's the thing..."

The bathroom door opened suddenly and Buffy came inside. "Oh, there you are. C'mon Dawn. Mom says she wants to talk to you."

Even though she was still livid with her mother Dawn couldn't bring herself to be petty and say she didn't want to talk to her given her condition. "Yeah, ok." She got to her feet and exited the bathroom, but not before mouthing 'later' to Mikaela.

Buffy turned to follow her sister out but stopped when she noticed how sad Mikaela looked. "Hey..." She sat down next to the young girl. "I don't think Mom'll keep Dawn from hanging out with you and Sam, if that's what you're upset about."

Mikaela sighed and shook her head. "No, it's not that... I mean, yeah, that'll really suck because Dawn's one of the true friends I've ever had. All of my other friends were shallow bitches and she's awesome. But, that's not why I'm upset."

That would leave one other thing for a girl to get upset over. Boyfriend problems. Considering the fact that Sam was mainly hanging out in the waiting room kind of angry while his girl was in here, they must have had a fight earlier. However, Buffy left it alone. It wasn't her place to ask, she'd leave that to Dawn. However, she could at least try to get them in the same room together.

"C'mon, we're going to be leaving soon anyway after Dawn talks with Mom."

Mikaela felt apprehensive about going in the same room with Sam but followed the blond out anyway. When she made it to the waiting room she found Sam sitting in one of the chairs, giving an encouraging wave to Dawn who had just headed into her mother's hospital room. He noticed her and his expression turned carefully neutral which was what he did when he was pissed but didn't want to cause a scene.

_I faced off against Decepticons and we're dealing with demons now, no way you're gonna scare me, Witwicky._

Standing up straighter. She walked over to him and sat in the chair opposite of him. "So..." she figured she'd start off by getting him to talk about other goings on, "did you hear about what Dawn's Mom decided?"

Sam gave a curt nod. "Yeah, I hope Ironhide actually convinced her to change her mind though."

Now that was one thing she did not expect to hear. "Huh?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, right after her mom forbade Dawn to see the bots again, Ironhide called her. Buffy doesn't know what he said to her but she had said she needed time to think. I'm guessing he tried to convince her to change her mind since its obvious he cares more about Dawn than he'll let on."

Mikaela didn't say anything else for a little while and their was an awkward silence between the two. Sighing in defeat, Mikaela turned away from Sam and angled her body so she had a clear visual of Joyce's room. It was silent as the group waited for Dawn to come out.

S.S.S.S.S.S

_Why did I even bother?_

Still sitting in the hospital parking lot, Ironhide was mulling over why he troubled himself to actually call Dawn's mother. At first he was perfectly content with being angry at Dawn and her disregarding ways. However, when he had caught a huge gush of anguish from her and then when he overhead what she told Bumblebee as she leaked optical fluid inside of the youngling's interior he had called the woman without a second thought.

Yes, the girl was raging pain in the exhaust port but she had her good points, just like he had told her each of those times she had gotten down on herself...

_Slagging energy ball... connecting me to a fragging stupid youngling nuisance. _

If he was in his alt mode he would've hung his head as he recalled the cruel words he growled out as he left her and she had undoubtedly heard them. The wave of hurt he had gotten from her had confirmed that.

"Ah, slag... Nice goin', 'Hide."

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Hey, Trenny."

Trent turned to see Mia coming down the stairs. Her hair was tousled with sleep, and her face was paler than before but she didn't look too worse for wear. However there was this niggling feeling in the back of his skull that kept telling him something wasn't right.

Trying to put it out of his head, he put on a smile as she came forward and wrapped her arms around him. Trent hugged her back and that same chill darted up his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Something was not right and it wasn't just that she was freezing cold in his arms.

Pulling away from her, he guided her to a chair to sit. "So... what happened?"

Mia took her seat and began to tell her story.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Yeah, Mom?" Dawn asked as she shut the door behind her.

Joyce motioned for Dawn to sit down and sat up in bed. "Dawn..." She began, "I've given it some thought and... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have you be around the Autobots, especially with these... things running around."

Dawn's eyes widened in shocked delight, a smile stretching her mouth. "Really? You changed your mind...?" Squealing in delight she bounded over to the bed and gave her mother a hug. "Oh, Mom you're the best!"

Smiling, Joyce hugged her back. "I didn't come by this decision easily. However, what Ironhide said was true and-"

Blue eyes widened as her face shifted from joy to confusion and Dawn lifted her head from Joyce's shoulder. "Ironhide?"

Joyce nodded. "Yes, he called me a few hours ago and talked some sense into me. They'll be able to protect you better than anyone here... Also, he convinced me it was wrong to try and separate from the few real friends you have."

Pulling away from Joyce, Dawn sat down on the bed and tried to take all of this in. Ironhide actually called her mother and vouched for her?

"Wow..."

"I know, I was a little amazed too. And then after a while I thought anyone who would actually do that for my little girl is a true friend indeed. He must really care about you." Joyce then gave a small laugh. "He even said he would be the main one protecting you."

Awestruck, Dawn couldn't stop the small smile from spreading across her face. "He's awesome..." She then stood up. "I better go thank him... and apologize."

Joyce's brow furrowed in confusion. "Apologize for what?"

"We had a fight last night." Dawn sighed. "I better go fix it."

Her mother gave a conceding nod. "Well, then go. I'll see you tomorrow."

Dawn nodded and gave her mother one last hug. "Thanks again."

When she pulled away, Joyce gave her a confused look and slightly reared back, eyes wide. "You... you don't fit. And, it's all green!"

Dawn's eyes widened and she jerked back, extremely worried. "Mom? Mom, it's me. Dawn."

After a moment, Joyce shook her head and focused back on Dawn. "Honey... Are you all right?"

Swallowing, Dawn gave an uneasy nod. "Yeah... I'm going to go and... talk to Ironhide. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that she left out of the room.

When she entered the waiting area Buffy, Mikaela and Sam all gave her expecting looks, wanting to know what her mother had said. Though she was unnerved by her mother's strange behavior she couldn't help the small smile that spread over her face. "She changed her mind."

Mikaela got up and gave Dawn a hug. "That's awesome!"

Sam pulled her into a hug after Mikaela released her. "Sweet!" He pulled back a bit. "What made her change her mind? Was it Ironhide?"

Dawn's eyes widened. "You knew?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, your sister told me."

Shaking her head, she headed to the elevator. "I'll tell you on the way to the Bluff. I want to talk to Ironhide first, okay."

The two nodded and followed her, exchanging glances at each other. Dawn caught them and sighed. "And you two need to make up too."

Both brunette's eyes widened and then they sighed, still silent. Dawn glanced over her shoulder. "Buffy, you coming? I don't think Bee'll mind taking you to the Magic Box."

Buffy shook her head. "No, I'm coming to the Bluff too. I want to talk to the bots again and then we're going to talk to Spike after sunset."

Blue eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "You're going to bring them around Spike?" Clasping her hands together at the thought of the mayhem that was sure to ensue Dawn bounced on the balls of her feet. "Can I come?"

"No."

"But-"

"I'm going to go say goodbye to Mom and I'll meet you at the Bluff." Buffy shook her head at her sister's antics and turned around, a small smile on her face. At least she was happy again.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Bee!" Dawn sprinted outside and into the waiting Camero. "She changed her mind!"

A cheering audience resounded from the speakers.

"And you won't believe how..." Sam said as he slid into the driver's seat.

"I'm going to get in Ironhide. Mikaela said, figuring she'd give Dawn time to work up her nerve to talk to Ironhide." She could feel Sam's eyes on her as she headed to the waiting Topkick.

"Mikaela." Sam called and she froze.

"Yeah?"

He was quiet for a while and then sighed. "Can we put this behind us?"

Relief filled her and washed over her face and she nodded. "I'd like that."

"Cool." Sam seemed relieved as well. "I'll see you at the Bluff."

Nodding, Mikaela climbed into Ironhide and his door shut behind her. "So, you and Sam fixed things?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded and then smirked at the Weapons Specialist steering wheel. "And by the way... You're a total sweetheart."

"Shaddup, femme."

S.S.S.S.S.S  
"What is this place?"

They were a few miles out of Sunnydale. Following the demon's directions after she had left her grandfather's, Barricade had driven until he found himself in an empty parking lot behind a demolished building. However, he knew it was more than that due to the strong energy fluctuating throughout the area.

Shelly glanced at the steering wheel as she grabbed her purse. "Why? Picking up something?"

"There is a strong energy field here though outwardly everything appears normal." Barricade's voice held an edge of suspicion. "What is this place, demon?"

With a roll of her eyes, she exited the Saleen. "It's a cloaking spell you're sensing. Can't have the wrong type of people finding this place. Well, that's half of what you're picking up on your scanners."

"And the other half?" Barricade demanded.

"The entrance to the demonic black market. I have to pick up some special things if I'm to hold up my end of the bargain."

Demonic black market? He had heard of the human black market, but demonic. He was slightly curious. Barricade ran scans over the building but could sense nothing except for a few nests of rodents. "There's no one here, demon!"

She just gave a small smile and turned her back to him and squared her shoulders, morphing into her true form. She spoke a few words in a language he did not understand. Probably a demon tongue.

There was nothing for a moment. All was quiet. Then the painted lines of the lot begin to shift and swirl, forming a strange script. It was written in none of the human scripts he had downloaded. A wind picked up and script fizzled into the ground, forming a dark portal.

Inside of him, Frenzy let out a string of shocked exclamations, pointing and squealing. Barricade handled his shock in a less obnoxious way and kept quiet. His curiosity died a quick death. No way in the Pit was his jumping into that thing!

"Be back later! Probably a half hour tops." And with that she jumped into the portal and it sealed up behind her and the terrain morphed back into and ordinary parking lot.

Frenzy cautiously exited Barricade and scuttled over to the painted lines, poking at them and examining the cement. Barricade transformed as well and began running scans over the area as well. He had thought the black market was inside the building, not underneath the parking lot!

"Erm.... Barricade?" Frenzy asked poking his leg.

"What?"

"D-do you think the lizard can do w-what she claimed?"

Barricade thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. She brought you back from the Pit which was impressive. But, that and what she's promised to do are on two completely different levels. If she cannot, if she's lied to us I'll kill her."

Frenzy nodded and then poked his foot again.

"WHAT?!"

"But, what if she can...? Sh-should we g-get the other Decepticons in on this?"

Barricade thought about that for a moment. No doubt the others would be pleased if the lizard could do what she said that she could.

Without another word to Frenzy, sent a message out into the stars to the others, hoping for a response soon.

S.S.S.S.S.S

"Ironhide..."

It was nearing sunset and the group was now back at the Bluff. Optimus had called the bots back to this spot and Buff had done the same with her group. Sam and Mikaela were standing near Bumblebee, working things out while Ratchet and Anya were engaged in a conversation about Cybertronian and human sexual practices and the differences between each while Xander, Tara and Willow both looked extremely uncomfortable. Giles and Buffy had just arrived and had made their way over to Optimus. Ironhide was standing a little ways away from everyone else and Dawn had slowly made her way over to the black Autobot, wringing her hands.

Ultramarine optics shifted downward to find Dawn standing a good distance away from his feet. Her arms were folded and she was scuffing the ground with her foot. From the expression on her face it seemed like she was trying to figure out what to say to him.

"Yeah, kid?"

Her eyes snapped to him and her mouth tightened at being called a kid but she calmed down. She didn't want to start this off angry. Taking a few more steps towards him and settling herself on a boulder, she let out a sigh. "I'm sorry about-"

"Forget about it." He said gruffly, looking away from her.

Oh, he wasn't about to toss this away. What was it with guys and the way they made important things seem like they didn't matter? "No, listen..." She twiddled her fingers and swallowed. "I wanted to tell you all about what was going on here... But, I couldn't. I'd promised my sister not to say anything..."

What could be termed as a defeated sigh escaped the Autobot. "Its fine, Dawn... I stopped being mad about a while ago. And..." he paused for a moment then sighed. "I should... be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have said what I said." He the turned to look at her fully and lowered himself to her level. "You aren't stupid, or a nuisance. I'm sorry... I was just..."

"Angry?" Dawn guessed and he gave a small humorless snort and rose back up.

"Yes, angry among other things."

Dawn then remembered what Mikaela had told her in the hospital. "Hurt?"

He remained silent but that was all of the answer she needed. Standing up, she moved and wrapped her arms around his foot as best she could. "I'm sorry..."

He was still for a moment but then reached down and stroked his thumb over her head the one would a small pet. "It's okay..."

She smiled and reached up to pat his finger then took a step back. "Wanna go back with everyone else?"

Nodding, he stood back up and the two headed back to the group just in time to hear some of Ratchet and Anya's conversation.

"Okay... Now, the wires work like nerves so you can feel..." Anya nodded to herself as she went over what he'd told her then looked up at him. "Explain 'plugging' to me again."

Ratchet nodded. "Well, plugging is when-"

Anya listened intently and Dawn's eyes grew wide as she listened to Ratchet's description while Ironhide palmed his head and smirked when the youngling's mouth dropped open. He could feel the unease coming off of her in waves and it was kind of funny.

"Um..." Dawn muttered when it was over. "I'm... going to to see how Sam and Mikaela are doing... Yeah..."

"I think you scarred her for life, Ratchet." Ironhide commented.

The CMO blinked at the retreating form of the younger girl before turning back to Anya. "Now, where was I? Oh yes-"

Unable to take more awkward explainations, Tara retreated to go watch the sunset when she felt the earth shift a bit as one of the bots took steps toward her.

"Tara, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Tara blinked when she heard the deep voice of the Autobot leader addressed her. Turning around she gave the towering figure a small smile and tried to hide her unease. "Yeah?"

"I wanted to talk to you about last night." At that she tensed.

"Yeah... about that, I'm really sorry I hit you with the dresser." She heard the bots snickering and Optimus tossed an annoyed look over his shoulder before returning his attention to her.

"It's all right, Tara. I understand why you attacked me, what I want to know is how you were able to do what you did. I know you said you were a witch, correct?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded.

"How were you able to move the dresser with your mind? Can all witches do that?"

Tara's brow scrunched in thought. "Well, learning how to do that took a while. Not all of us... And not right away. It takes time, practice and in some cases natural talent. I've been practicing magick since I was a little girl so it's not too hard for me to try to move a dresser. Now, if I tried to move a larger object like a car or something, I probably could but it would strain me horribly, causing a lot of physical damage probably."

Optimus tilted his head in an inquiring manner. "I don't understand."

She gave him a patient smile, like she figured he would not. "Well, think of it like this. A runner who is used to only running a few yards goes and runs two miles. You can he'll be feeling the consequences of that for a while. It's the same with magic. A mid-level witch trying a grand master spell would exhaust herself. It would take a great portion of her mystical energies, causing her to burn out. Sometimes trying something extremely heavy when you're not at the level can have fatal consequences."

"I see..." He glanced over at Ironhide and Dawn. The girl was currently engaged in a dancing competition with Bumblebee while Ironhide shook his head though he could see a small smile tilting the mech's mouth. He turned back to Tara. "Would finding out the nature of the connection between Ironhide and Dawn be within you abilities?"

The girl thought for a minute. "I don't know... I could try. Willow would have to help, she's a lot strong that I am." Her eyes shifted to the redhead who was currently judging the contest before turning back to him. "But, it shouldn't be a problem. How about after you guys go talk with Spike?"

A small grateful smile tilted the Autobot's mouth plates. "That would be excellent. Thank you, Tara."

"No, problem." She looked up and noticed the sun was nearly gone. "Well, if you guys want to go talk with Spike, the time would be now."

It seemed Buffy was thinking the same thing. She made her way over to Optimus, moving next to Tara so she was in his line of sight. "Hey."

"Buffy." Optimus nodded. "You're ready to interrogate the vampire?"

"Oh yeah."

"Ooh!" Dawn scurried over to the trio and turned pleading eyes to her sister. "Can I please come?" she begged. "I'll be really quiet."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Dawn, you just want to see him flip out."

"Exactly!" The teenager cried enthusiastically. "So, can I?"

"No. The cemetery is no place for you, especially after sunset."

Rolling her eyes and scoffing Dawn turned and headed back to Bumblebee. "Typical..."

"No worries, we'll hang out with you." Sam said wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "And you still have to tell us what Ironhide said to your mom."

"Oh, right..." Dawn smacked her head as she made her way to Bumblebee who had just transformed. She glanced over at Ironhide. "Have fun with Spike!"

Ironhide noticed the uneasy look Ratchet had on his face at the thought of the reanimated corpse and smirked. "No doubt I will."

Ratchet growled and elbowed Ironhide in the midsection. "Shut up, slagger." He then transformed and was about to drive off when Anya knocked on his hood. "I'm coming too," she declared.

Seeing no reason to deny her sense she's dealt with this sort of thing for close to a millennium, he popped his door open for her.

Optimus transformed and popped his door open for Buffy while Xander drove in his own car, no doubt annoyed that he couldn't ride in a cool robot.

Tara stayed behind and waved to the group before getting inside of Bumblebee. She just knew this was going to be an interesting night.

S.S.S.S.S.S.  
_That... couldn't have been real. What happened? I'm having a nightmare. Wake up, just wake up._

But he didn't wake up. He didn't find himself in his bedroom with Zorro sitting on his chest. He was still sitting on his front steps, back against the banister. His neck was still bleeding and the wind was now blowing away a pile of dust that used to be his baby sister as the sun dipped off to the west.

Fighting to get his numb legs to work, Trent pulled himself to his feet and went back into the house. Inside little Zorro meowed at him worriedly but he ignored the little cat and made his way upstairs, tears streaming down his cheeks.

_I killed my sister...and I don't even know how..._

S.S.S.S.S.S

Scanners picked up that same energy field increasing in intensity and Barricade and Frenzy turned to see the ground swirling and Shelly coming out of the hole, a knapsack on her shoulder and a cloth bag in hand. "Highway robbery..." She complained as the portal sealed up behind her. "But, if this goes according to plan, it should be worth it."

"Will this work, demon?" Barricade asked, lowering himself to her level.

"Now that I have most of what I need, yes, I believe it will." She brushed her brown hair back. "So, we need to head back to Sunnydale."

Barricade said nothing to her, only transformed back into his alt mode, popping his door open so the lizard could slide inside and Frenzy sat in the seat next to her. After he shut his door and started on the highway to Sunnydale a message came through over his communication link. He made sure to keep the link silent so his organic partner would not hear.

_"Message from Barricade received. Soundwave acknowledges."_

HA! Everyone thought that I was going to make Trent a vamp! XD Nope. God, I love doing that. Well, the next chapter should be out within a few days since my mojo is up and running again. Please review people regardless of if you liked it, loved it, hated it or thought it was mediocre, reviews are what actually get me going. Thanks for reading! :D


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